产生声音

Producing Sound

简而言之，声音是产生声音的振动器。当你拨动吉他弦或敲击鼓时，琴弦或鼓面的振动会产生在空气中传播的声波。这本质上就是我们发声的方式。当我们收拢声带并从声带间呼出空气时，声带就会开始振动，从而产生人耳可以感知的声波。

Put simply, the voice is a vibrator for making sound. When you pluck the string of a guitar or hit a drum, the vibration of the string or drum skin generates sound waves that travel through the air. This is essentially what we do with our voices. When we bring our vocal folds together and breathe air out between them, the vocal folds begin to vibrate, which produces sound waves that can be detected by the human ear.

当然，这种能力并非人类独有。所有两栖动物、爬行动物和哺乳动物都有喉部，成千上万的物种——尤其是哺乳动物——已经进化出利用喉部发出其他动物能够听到的声音的能力。这使得这些动物能够高效地呼唤幼崽、吸引配偶以及警告同类。人类已经进化出维持声音并将声音分解成清晰言语的能力，能够创作富有表现力的歌曲。随着高级大脑中枢的发育，人类还进化出通过口头语言交流复杂抽象思想的能力。人类的发声器官对音调的控制、变化和美感达到了近乎奇迹的水平。

This ability, of course, is not unique to humans. All amphibians, reptiles, and mammals have a larynx, and thousands of species—particularly among the mammals—have developed the ability to use the larynx to produce sounds that can be heard by other animals. This gives these animals a highly effective means of calling to their young, attracting mates, and warning others of their kind. Humans, who have developed the ability to sustain vocal sounds and to break up these sounds into articulated speech, are able to produce expressive song and, with the development of higher brain centers, have also developed the ability to communicate complex and abstract thoughts through spoken language. In humans, the vocal instrument is capable of an almost miraculous level of control, variety, and beauty of tone.

声音由三个基本要素构成。首先是喉部，里面容纳着振动器，也就是声带。它位于喉咙中气管的顶部。其次是呼吸，它提供空气来振动声带。在发声过程中正常呼吸时，空气流经喉部时不会产生振动，但当作为振动器的声带并拢时，空气在​​声带之间流动，会引起振动。因此，喉部是振动器，而从肺部流出的空气是驱动声带运动的动力源（图 1-1）。

There are three basic elements that make up the voice. The first is the larynx, which houses the vibrators, or vocal folds. It is located in the throat at the top of the windpipe. The second element is the breath, which supplies the air that vibrates the vocal folds. During normal breathing, air passes through the larynx without creating vibrations, but when the vocal folds, which are the vibrators, are brought together, air rushing between them causes them to oscillate. So the larynx is the vibrator, and the air flowing from the lungs is the power source that sets the vocal folds in motion (fig. 1-1).

第三个要素是喉部上方的共鸣腔。如果你拨动一把没有琴身的吉他的琴弦，声音会很微弱，听不见；琴弦的振动之所以能被听到，是因为吉他内部的空间提供了一个辅助振动器，增强了琴弦的声音。喉部发生的振动也是如此，它本身只会产生嗡嗡的声音。正是因为喉部的振动在喉部上方的空间（也称为“声道”）产生共鸣，才产生了更响亮、更饱满的声音。当这种情况发生时，我们才能听到人声的浑厚音色（图 1-1）。

The third element is the resonant cavities above the larynx. If you plucked the strings of a guitar that had no body, the sound would be weak and inaudible; the vibrations of the strings can be heard only because the space inside the guitar provides a secondary vibrator that augments the sounds from the strings. This is also true of the vibrations occurring in the larynx, which alone produce little more than a buzzing sound. It is because the vibrations in the larynx resonate in the spaces above the larynx—also known as the “vocal tract”—that they take on a louder and fuller sound. When that happens, we hear the rich timbre of the human voice (fig. 1-1).

因此，我们拥有了产生声音所需的三个要素：动力源（气流）、振动器（声带）和共鸣器（喉咙和口腔）。通过产生气流，我们振动声带，进而产生在喉咙中产生共振的气波。通过思考特定的声音，或通过意图交流，我们以言语或歌曲的形式以不同的方式改变这种声音。例如，当我们思考一个特定的音调时，声带的长度和大小就会改变，使我们能够发出音量和音质各异、清晰精准的音符。通过用舌头、软腭和嘴唇切割声音，并通过改变咽喉和口腔的形状来改变元音，我们创造了人类言语中特定的清晰发音。通过这种方式，大自然赋予了我们协调和操控声音的能力。以微妙而奇妙的方式改变发声机制；其结果是人类声音富有表现力和美妙的声音。

Thus we have the three elements needed to produce sound: a power source (the flow of air), a vibrator (the vocal folds), and a resonator (the throat and mouth). By generating air, we vibrate the vocal folds, which in turn create air waves that resonate in the throat. By thinking of particular sounds, or by intending to communicate, we then alter this sound in varying ways in the form of speech or song. When, for instance, we think of a particular pitch, this alters the length and size of the vocal folds, and enables us to create distinct and precise notes with varying volume and qualities. By chopping up the sound with the tongue, soft palate, and lips, and by altering the vowel sounds by changing the shape of the pharynx and mouth, we create the specific articulated sounds of human speech. In this way, nature has provided us with the ability to coordinate and manipulate the vocal mechanism in subtle and marvelous ways; the result is the expressive and beautiful sound of the human voice.

自然之声

The Natural Voice

虽然成年人发声的过程是一种高度精细的自主活动，但发声实际上在幼儿身上发生——就像在整个动物界一样——是一种本能功能。例如，众所周知，早在婴儿学会说话之前，他们就会牙牙学语，而儿童在发育早期发出的各种声音——咕咕声和其他简单的发声，以及哭声甚至笑声——完全是无意识的。在这样的早期发育阶段，婴儿还无法做出自主行为；与其他动作一样，声音是本能地产生的，就像动物一样。

Although the process of producing sound in the adult human is a highly refined voluntary activity, vocalizing actually occurs in young children—as it does throughout the animal kingdom—as an instinctive function. It is well known, for instance, that long before infants can speak, they babble, and the various sounds a child makes at an early stage of development—cooing and other simple vocal sounds as well as crying and even laughing—are entirely involuntary. At such an early stage of development, the infant is not capable of voluntary action; as with other actions, sounds are produced instinctively, just as they are in animals.

在这个发展阶段——通常在接下来的几年里——发声是一件毫不费力的事情，自然而然地发生。许多发声技巧都强调构建声音，并强调歌唱本身就有些做作和不自然，需要专门的指导和训练。然而，幼儿的情感声音似乎神奇地从他们的喉咙中发出，带着一种难以理解的轻松和活力。孩子们很少用力拉扯他们的喉咙，从歌手的角度来看，他们的喉咙几乎坚不可摧，他们能够几乎不费吹灰之力，几乎完全自动地、不由自主地发出最刺耳的声音。当孩子尖叫时，用力地支撑声音，躯干与喉头的协调动作，以及情感和表现力——所有这些都是自动发生的，而且非常轻松。

At this stage of development—and often for several years to come—sound production is a marvelously effortless affair and occurs naturally and automatically. Many vocal techniques speak of building a voice and stress the fact that singing, being somewhat artificial and unnatural, requires specific instruction and training. Yet emotive sound in a young child seems to emanate quite magically from their throats with a sense of ease and vitality that is hard to fathom. Children rarely strain their throats, which seem, from a singer’s point of view, nearly indestructible, and they are capable of producing the most ear-piercing sounds with what appears to be little effort and at an almost entirely automatic and involuntary level. When a child screams, the vigorous use of the trunk to support the sound, the coordination of the trunk action with the larynx, and the emotive and expressive qualities—all take place automatically and with remarkable ease.

对于普通成年人来说，说话和唱歌的感受截然不同。长时间说话令人疲惫不堪，常常令人虚弱无力，即使是发出最简单的声音似乎也需要费力和紧张。有些人，即使只是短暂地喊叫，或在喧闹的餐厅里与隔桌的人交谈，声音也会变得嘶哑；许多职业歌手和其他声音使用者似乎仅仅为了在短语之间喘口气或说几句话就需要极大的紧张。有些成年人说话时语气混乱，令人难以忍受，即使尝试放松，也似乎无济于事。

For the average adult, speaking and singing present quite a different spectacle. Speaking for long periods is tiring and often debilitating, and making even the simplest sounds seems to require laborious effort and strain. Some people, after shouting even a short time or conversing with someone across a table in a loud restaurant, become hoarse; many professional singers and other voice users seem to require tremendous levels of tension just to take a breath between phrases or to speak a few sentences. Some adults use their voices in a positively chaotic and debilitating manner, and attempts to relax seem to do little to alleviate the situation.

但是，孩子发出的声音既有力又轻松，而成人发出的声音则显得紧绷、费力，这两者之间的区别究竟是什么呢？乍一看，我们或许会认为是生理因素。毕竟，孩子拥有健康无比的组织和强健的体魄，而且几乎没有受到任何损伤或压迫喉咙的因素。因此，孩子的声音自然会比成人的声音更有效率。

But what accounts for the difference between the effortless, powerful vocalizations of the child and the constricted, strained voice of the adult? At first glance we might argue that it is physiology. The child, after all, has perfectly healthy tissues, a vigorous physique, and has done little to damage the larynx or constrict the throat in any way. It stands to reason that the child’s voice will work more efficiently than that of the adult.

但从最根本的方面来看，儿童喉部的结构差异实际上很小，这几乎无法解释该年龄段儿童的发声能力。天才歌手也是如此，从解剖学角度来看，他们的声音与未经训练的歌手的声音并无太大差异。儿童缺乏抑制​​力也无法解释发声能力的差异，因为恢复唱歌冲动或消除情绪抑制的方法，对于恢复完全正常的歌唱嗓音几乎无能为力。

But in most fundamental respects there is really very little difference in the physical makeup of a child’s larynx that can account for how well the voice functions at this age. The same can be said for gifted singers, whose voices, anatomically speaking, are little different than those of untrained singers. Nor can the child’s lack of inhibition account for the differences in vocal use, since methods for recovering the impulse to sing or for removing emotional inhibitions do little to restore the fully functional singing voice.

这两种乐器的区别不在于生理结构，而在于功能。歌唱的声音与其说是一个有机结构，不如说是各个部分建立或运作的动态关系，是一个协调的系统。协调地运用声音不仅仅是技巧的问题；为了发出美妙而持续的声音，歌手必须能够同时激活各种功能，将这些元素协调成一个统一的整体。我们在幼儿的发声中就能看到这一点，他们的喉头被更大的喉咙肌肉完美地支撑，他们的肋骨和躯干非常灵活且富有弹性，他们能够完美地协调喉头、喉咙和呼吸运动，从而以极其高效的方式发出声音。我们也在伟大的歌手身上看到这一点，他们展现的技巧与其说是因为他们所做的，不如说是因为他们唱歌时自然而然地发生的。

What makes the two instruments different is not physiology but function. The singing voice is not so much an organic structure as a dynamic relationship of parts erected, or brought into play, as a coordinated system. Using the voice in a coordinated manner isn’t simply a matter of skill; to generate beautiful and sustained sounds, the singer must be able to activate various functions at once, coordinating these elements into a unified whole. We see this in the vocalizations of young children, whose larynx is perfectly supported within the larger musculature of the throat, whose ribs and trunk are completely flexible and toned, and who are able to coordinate the larynx perfectly with the throat and breathing motions to produce sound in a marvelously efficient way. We also see this in great singers, who exhibit skill not so much by virtue of what they do but by virtue of what happens in them naturally when they sing.

然而，在正常的成年人中，这些元素是缺失的，因为支持发声的肌肉组织工作不正常，而这种工作模式是有害的肌肉和发声方式，会干扰用这个系统。通常，我们会尝试训练声音的各个部分来应对这种情况，但这种方法通常无法解决问题，因为严格来说，问题不在于声音本身，而在于它所依赖的更大的身体组织。正如我将在本书中阐述的那样，解决这个问题的方法不是训练或塑造声音，而是恢复儿童自然的发声系统，并学习如何在更有意识的层面上运用这个系统。

In the normal adult, however, these elements are missing because the musculature that supports the voice is working improperly based on harmful patterns of muscular and vocal use that interfere with this system. Normally we respond to this situation by attempting to train elements of the voice, but such an approach usually fails to solve the problem because, strictly speaking, the problem isn’t with the voice but with the larger bodily organization on which it depends. The solution to this problem, as I will show in this book, is not to train or build the voice but to restore the natural system as it works in children, and to learn to use this system at a more conscious level.

头躯干模式

The Head-Trunk Pattern

要全面理解发声器官及其内在结构，肌肉系统的两个要素至关重要。首先，头部和躯干在组织肌肉骨骼系统（尤其是发声）方面发挥着重要作用。我们都习惯于认为肌肉能产生运动，例如，我们通过收缩二头肌来弯曲手臂肘部。但肌肉并非只产生孤立的运动。当狗发现松鼠时，它的整个身体都会对这一刺激做出反应，并形成一个由头部朝向所见物体的方向所组织的整体运动模式。这种运动并非具体到某个部位，而是一个整体的活动模式，在这个模式中，整个身体都准备在空间中移动，头部领先，身体跟随。

Two elements of the muscular system are essential to a full understanding of the vocal instrument and its inherent design. The first is the primary role of the head and trunk in organizing the musculoskeletal system in general and the voice in particular. We are all accustomed to the notion that muscles produce movement, as when we flex our arms at the elbow by contracting the biceps muscles. But muscles don’t just produce isolated movement. When a dog spots a squirrel, the dog’s entire body responds to this stimulus with a total pattern of movement organized by the orientation of the head toward what it sees. This movement is not specific but involves a total pattern of activity in which the body as a whole prepares to move in space, with the head leading and the body following.

为了实现这一点，肌肉不能仅仅收缩或单独活动，而必须协同工作，使身体各部分协调运作，从而所有部分都能以最小的张力协同工作。当然，这种全身模式并非人类独有，所有脊椎动物都具备这种模式，它们感知空间中的物体，然后朝着感知的方向移动。同样的原理也适用于幼儿，他们的整个身体作为一个协调的整体，灵活地运作。在这个早期发育阶段，孩子基本上是一个四足动物。身体在空间中水平排列，头部在前，躯干负责支撑四肢，从而有力地支撑身体离开地面并推动身体向前，肌肉全身都在自动地以完全反射的水平支撑身体离开地面。

In order for this to happen, muscles can’t just contract or act individually but must work in tandem to produce a coordinated working of the parts of the body so that all these parts are working together with a minimum of tension. This total body pattern is, of course, not unique to humans but operates in all vertebrates, which perceive objects in space and then move in the direction of what is perceived. This same principle operates in a young child, whose entire body works expansively as a toned, coordinated whole. At this early stage of development, the child is essentially a four-footed creature. The body is horizontally arranged in space with the head leading, the trunk is designed to support the limbs to powerfully support the body off the ground and propel it forward, and muscles all over the body are automatically working to support the body up off the ground at a completely reflex level.

在成年人类中，我们四足祖先的水平姿势发生了巨大变化，因为躯干被颠倒过来，脊柱保持垂直，头部位于其上。这意味着头部和躯干不再水平排列在运动线上，而是直接向上，或者说远离地面。这种直立姿势与更广泛的自主行为相关；与我们的宠物不同，我们通常不会对大多数刺激做出冲动反应，而是会花费更多时间进行思考。

In adult humans, the horizontal design of our four-footed ancestors changes dramatically because the trunk has been upended so that the spine is vertically poised with the head sitting on top. This means that the head and trunk are no longer arranged horizontally in the line of movement but point directly upward, or away from the ground. This upright posture is associated with a much greater range of voluntary behavior; unlike our pets, we don’t tend to respond impulsively to most stimuli but spend a much greater amount of time thinking.

然而，直立的人类仍然必须保持完全的自动支撑，以头部为主导，对抗重力。我们的运动仍然主要依赖于通过眼睛和耳朵接收到的信息，身体的运动也与头部的方向一致。站立或坐下时，头部不再引领运动方向，因为在这两种情况下，我们的身体都会直接向上伸展以对抗重力。但头部仍然引导身体，身体伸展以提供向上的支撑，头部与躯干的关系仍然是运动的主要组织原则。因此，这个直立支撑系统是所有发声系统围绕其组织的支撑结构，包括悬挂在头骨上的喉咙，以及依靠躯干直立支撑而灵活运作的呼吸机制。

However, upright humans must still maintain total automatic support against gravity with the head leading, and we still move largely in relation to input coming in through the eyes and ears, the body moving in sympathy with the orientation of the head. In standing or sitting, the head no longer leads in the direction of movement, since in both cases our bodies lengthen directly upward against gravity. But the head still leads the body, which lengthens to produce upward support, and the relationship of the head to the trunk is still the main organizing principle in movement. This upright support system, accordingly, is the support structure around which all the vocal systems are organized, including the throat, which hangs from the skull, and the breathing mechanism, which depends for its flexibility on the upright support of the trunk.

第二个要素是拮抗作用原理。为了维持直立姿势，肌肉必须作用于骨骼的不同部位，以防止其弯曲并支撑整体。然而，如果这些肌肉只是拉动骨骼，身体就无法克服重力而伸长，反而会缩短甚至塌陷。为了抵消肌肉的拉力，头部和脊柱必须充当平衡器和间隔器，即使肌肉作用于这些部位，也能保持肌肉的长度。这种安排自相矛盾地确保了肌肉不但不会缩短身体，反而实际上产生了更大的长度，就像一根帐篷杆，即使支撑它的拉索被拉向地面，它也会向天空伸长。

The second element is the principle of antagonistic action. To support upright posture, muscles must act on different parts of the skeleton to keep it from buckling and to support it as a whole. However, if these muscles simply pull on the skeleton, the body, instead of lengthening against gravity, will shorten and collapse. To counteract the pull of muscles, the head and spine must act as counterbalances and spacers that maintain length on the muscles even as the muscles act on these parts. This arrangement paradoxically ensures that the muscles, instead of shortening the body, actually have the effect of producing greater length, like a tent pole that is lengthened skyward even though the guy wires that support it pull down toward the ground.

当这套系统正常运作时（四足动物几乎总是如此），身体各骨节之间的肌肉实际上会被拉长，从而形成一个优美的悬浮结构，肌肉和骨骼在其中协同工作，轻松支撑地面。肌肉的对抗作用维持着一种全身模式，即身体作为一个整体运作，在空间中产生运动，肌肉和骨骼则相互拮抗，从而轻松支撑着这套系统。

When this system works properly, as it almost always does in four-footed animals, muscles are actually lengthened between bony segments of the body, which has the effect of creating a beautifully suspended structure in which the muscles and bones work together to create effortless support above the ground. Muscles acting in opposition maintain a total body pattern in which the body functions as a whole to produce movement in space, and muscles and bones work antagonistically so that this system is supported effortlessly.

这种拮抗支撑系统是一种使发声器官直立起来的机制，使其各个部分能够毫不费力地得到支撑。例如，尽管我们有能力屏住或控制呼吸，但呼吸运动在很大程度上是自动的，它们并非由特定的自主控制来组织，而是在这个更大的组织模式的背景下进行的。喉部的运动和控制能力也是如此，它主要由肌肉系统在自动水平上组织，并且在动物体内作为这种整体协调模式的一部分发挥作用，早在为了发声而对这些结构进行特定控制之前。呼吸、喉部在喉咙内的支撑、喉咙作为共鸣空间的灵活性和开放性、以及利用喉部产生不同音域——所有这些都是这个更大系统的一部分，只有在这个系统的背景下才能理解。

This antagonistic support system is the mechanism that erects the vocal instrument so that its various parts are effortlessly supported. The movements of breathing, for instance—in spite of our ability to hold or manipulate our breath—are largely automatic, and they are organized not by specific voluntary control but within the context of this larger organizing pattern. The same is true of the ability to move and control the larynx, which is organized by the muscular system at a mainly automatic level, and was functioning in animals as part of this total coordinating pattern long before specific control of these structures became possible for the purpose of vocalization. Breathing, the support of the larynx within the throat, the flexibility and openness of the throat as a resonating space, the use of the larynx to produce different vocal registers—all function as part of this larger system and cannot be understood except in the context of this system.

这些更宏观的运动模式是发声的核心，也解释了儿童发声系统为何如此高效。由于身体整体通过扩张支撑和拮抗性拉长肌肉的协同作用，胸腔完全不受束缚，与喉部完美协调，从而发出声音；而喉部则由其外部肌肉支撑，使喉咙完全张开。所有这些部分都与更大的支撑系统相连，形成一个整体模式，各个部分相互拮抗，毫不费力地支撑和协调这些元素。

These larger patterns of movement are central to vocalizing and account for why the child’s vocal system works so efficiently. Because the body as a whole works with expansive support and antagonistically lengthening muscles, the rib cage is absolutely unconstricted and coordinates perfectly with the larynx to produce sound, while the larynx is supported by its extrinsic musculature so that the throat is perfectly open. And all these parts are connected with the larger support system working as a total body pattern, the various parts working antagonistically to effortlessly support and coordinate these elements.

声音和我们的人类设计

The Voice and Our Human Design

然而，正如我们所见，这套系统在人类身上的运作不如在动物身上那么顺畅，问题就出在这里。作为唯一完全直立的物种，我们进化出了非凡的发声精细运动控制能力，如果没有直立的姿势，发声器官就不可能进化成如今如此神奇的器官。当发声功能正常时，就像四足动物和大多数儿童的正常情况一样，呼吸自然顺畅，喉部得到咽喉肌肉的完美支撑，呼吸和喉部完美协调，毫不费力地发出声音。发声的运作方式与其设计初衷相符，只需付出最少的努力和压力，完全自然而然地自动完成。

As we’ve seen, however, this system does not work so well in humans as in animals, and this is where the problem comes in. As the only fully upright species, we have developed remarkable fine motor control over the voice, which could not have evolved as the amazing organ it is without the upright posture. When the voice works well, as it normally does in four-footed animals and in most children, breathing is natural and unimpeded, the larynx is perfectly supported by the throat muscles, and the breathing and larynx coordinate perfectly to produce sound effortlessly. The voice works as it is designed to work, with a minimum of effort and strain, completely naturally and automatically.

但我们的直立姿势比四足动物的姿势要不稳定得多，而获得对声音的自主控制的过程开始对这个系统产生破坏性的影响。我们试图纠正这个具体的问题，希望改善发声器官的整体运作；事实上，声音的每个部分都在一个更大的直立系统中运作，而这个系统必须作为一个整体运作，才能相互拮抗地支撑发声系统。当这种情况发生时，喉头和咽喉完美地悬浮在这个更大的肌肉组织中，肋骨和躯干得到支撑以确保正常呼吸，喉头、肋骨和横膈膜完美地协调，以一种极其高效的方式发出声音。

But our upright posture is much more unstable than that of four-footed animals, and the process of acquiring voluntary control over the voice begins to have a damaging effect on this system. We try to correct the specific problem, hoping to improve the overall working of the vocal organ; in fact, each part of the voice functions in the context of a larger upright system that must operate as a whole to support the vocal systems antagonistically. When this happens, the larynx and throat are perfectly suspended within this larger musculature, the ribs and trunk are supported to ensure proper breathing, and the larynx, ribs, and diaphragm coordinate perfectly to produce sound in a marvelously efficient way.

人类声音的关键

The Key to the Human Voice

正如我将在本书中所阐述的，这一组织原则是所有发声训练中缺失的根本要素。人声是一把奇妙的乐器，但在现代生活中，这把乐器完美运作的例子越来越少。据说，在美声唱法时代，完美运作的声音随处可见；而如今，作为人体机器宏伟设计的一部分，完全建立或激活的、功能齐全的声音，实属罕见。完好无损的这样一把乐器，充满活力和力量，同时又能毫不费力地运作，基于我们独特的直立设计，对抗作用的原理存在于整个自然界中并作用于人类。

This organizing principle, as I will show in this book, is the fundamental missing element in all vocal training. The human voice is a marvelous instrument, but instances of this instrument working perfectly are more and more rarely found in modern life. It has been said that a perfectly functioning voice was commonplace in the bel canto era; today, a fully functional voice, completely erected or activated as part of the magnificent design of the human machinery, is rare indeed. Intact and unimpaired, such an instrument is energetic and powerful and yet at the same time functions effortlessly based on the principle of antagonistic action found throughout nature and operating in humans based on our unique upright design.

正如我将在本书中所阐述的，要充分发挥人类发声器官的潜力，关键在于正确运作这个系统，而非具体的发声训练。如同双手的精细运动一样，发声是一项高度精细的功能；为了提高发声能力，声乐教学领域已经发展起来，其核心在于自主改善这些功能。然而，正因为声乐教学领域专注于声乐表演，它忽略了声音最基本、最本质的方面——即声音对整个肌肉系统的依赖，以及基于对这个系统的了解而发展声音的潜力。理解这个系统赋予了声音研究新的意义，因为它是理解发声器官及其正确使用的组织性洞察。

As I will show in this book, the proper working of this system, not specific vocal training, is the key to accessing the full potential of the human vocal instrument. Like the fine motor use of the hands, the use of the voice is a highly refined function; an entire field of vocal pedagogy has evolved for improving the voice based on improving these functions voluntarily. But precisely because the field of vocal pedagogy has focused on vocal performance, it has omitted the most basic and essential aspect of the voice—namely, the dependence of the voice on the entire muscular system, and the potential for developing the voice based on knowledge of this system. Understanding this system gives new meaning to the study of voice, because it is the organizing insight that makes sense of the vocal organ and its proper use.

这并不是说恢复这种整体模式就能解决所有歌唱难题，或者形成一套完整的发声训练体系。许多传统声乐研究中必不可少的概念不仅与歌唱嗓音的全面发展息息相关，而且至关重要。但正如我们将在接下来的章节中看到的，嗓音的每一个具体功能都与其整体设计直接相关，只有在这种背景下才能完全理解；对这个系统的了解是嗓音研究中一直缺失的关键，而嗓音研究是任何特定元素教学的基础。在本书中，我们将在这个整体模式的背景下考察每个发声系统，并以全新的方式理解它们的工作原理以及哪些因素会干扰整个嗓音系统，以便它能够完全恢复到自然、强大、动态的嗓音系统原本应有的水平。

This is not to say that reinstating this total pattern is a cure-all for all singing woes or forms a complete system of vocal training. Many of the concepts essential to traditional vocal study are not only relevant but essential to the full development of the singing voice. But as we will see in the following chapters, each specific function of the voice is directly related to its overall design and can be fully understood only in this context; knowledge of this system is the necessary key that has been missing from the study of voice as the foundation for any specific elements that are taught. In this book, we’ll look at each of the vocal systems in the context of this total pattern, and understand in a new way how they work and what interferes with the voice as a total system so that it can be fully restored as the automatic, powerful, dynamic system nature intended.

我们为什么呼吸

Why We Breathe

我们都知道，呼吸是为了将氧气吸入血液。氧气是一种燃料，为大脑、肌肉、器官和以及身体的其他组织。肌肉尤其需要大量的氧气，这一点我们在活动时呼吸频率会加快。当我们呼吸空气时，氧气被吸收到血液中，然后流向身体的各个部位，在那里被燃烧作为燃料。同时，血液也会吸收氧气消耗产生的废物，并将其带回肺部，以二氧化碳的形式排出体外。

We all know that we breathe in order to take oxygen into our blood. Oxygen is a kind of fuel that supplies the brain, muscles, organs, and other tissues of the body. Muscles in particular need a great deal of oxygen, as we can see when we are active and our breathing rate increases. When we breathe in air, oxygen is absorbed into the blood, which then flows to the various parts of the body, where it is burned as fuel. At the same time, the blood also picks up waste products from the used-up oxygen, which it then brings back to the lungs to be exhaled in the form of carbon dioxide.

氧气和血液之间的这种紧密联系，解释了心脏为何如此紧密地位于胸腔内两肺之间这一非常基本的解剖学事实。如果血液从肺部吸收氧气，那么血液的泵——心脏——位于肺部附近也就不足为奇了。在将血液泵送到全身之前，心脏必须先将血液泵经肺部吸收氧气。富氧血液返回心脏，然后被泵送到全身各处的组织。血液在释放其储存的氧气的同时，也吸收组织中的废物，这些废物返回肺部被呼出。这整个过程在我们每次呼吸时都会发生，心率和呼吸会根据需要进行调节，以适应身体所需的氧气量。

This close connection of oxygen and blood explains the very fundamental anatomical fact of why the heart is so intimately nestled in between the lungs in the chest cavity. If the blood picks up oxygen from the lungs, then it makes sense that the blood’s pump—the heart—is located close to the lungs. Before pumping blood through the body, the heart must pump blood through the lungs to first pick up oxygen. The oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart, where it is then pumped to tissues throughout the body. At the same time that the blood unloads its store of oxygen, it also picks up the waste products from the tissues, which are returned to the lungs to be breathed out. This entire process occurs every time we breathe, and the heart rate and breathing are regulated, as needed, to correspond to how much oxygen the body needs.

因此，呼吸不仅仅是肺部活动的问题。我们将空气吸入肺部，并非因为肺部需要氧气，而是因为我们所有组织都需要氧气。当血液在肺部获得新鲜的氧气供应后，它必须将氧气输送到全身，而氧气实际上会用于其真正的目的：为大脑、肌肉和器官提供能量。因此，呼吸有两个方面——外部呼吸，我们将氧气吸入肺部；内部呼吸，将氧气输送到全身各处的组织。我们以为呼吸是在肺部进行的，但实际上它发生在深层的分子层面，遍布身体的每个角落。

Breathing, then, isn’t simply a matter of what goes on in the lungs. We take air into the lungs not because our lungs need oxygen but because all our tissues need it. When the blood picks up a fresh supply of oxygen in the lungs, it must then carry the oxygen throughout the body, where the oxygen is actually used for its true purpose: to provide fuel to the brain, muscles, and organs. Respiration, then, has two aspects—the external aspect of respiration, where we take oxygen into the lungs; and the internal aspect of respiration, where the oxygen is transferred to tissues throughout the body. We think breathing goes on in the lungs, but it really happens at a profound molecular level in every nook and cranny of the body.

我们如何呼吸

How We Breathe

对于那些试图从科学角度理解呼吸的人来说，呼吸似乎非常令人困惑，因为人们谈论真空、差异气压和胸腔容量。但呼吸实际上比这简单得多。如果你拿着一个容器，比如一个纸袋，部分打开，然后将其扩大，空气就会流入袋子，因为空气是气体，而气体往往会填充空隙。这正是我们呼吸的方式。我们的胸腔有空间；通过增加这个腔的大小，空气会通过鼻子或嘴巴流入，填满额外的空间。当我们缩小这个腔的大小时，空气就会被迫排出。这种简单的空气交换就是我们所说的呼吸。

Breathing, for those who have attempted to understand it scientifically, can seem very confusing, with talk of vacuums, differentials in air pressure, and intrathoracic capacity. But breathing is really much simpler than this. If you hold a container, such as a paper bag, partially open and then increase its size, air will flow into the bag because air is a gas, and gases tend to fill empty spaces. This is precisely how we breathe. We have space in the chest cavity; by increasing the size of this cavity, air flows in through either the nose or mouth to fill up the extra space. When we decrease the size of this cavity, air is forced out. That simple exchange of air is what we call breathing.

但是，我们是如何让胸腔内的空间变大或变小的呢？我们通过两种方法来实现。首先，构成胸腔的肋骨能够像桶柄一样，通过与脊柱连接的关节移动来上升；这一动作增加了胸腔内的空间（图2-1）。最上面的肋骨连接前肋位于胸骨前方；下方肋骨在胸骨下方形成拱形；最后两根肋骨，即浮肋，并不在前方连接。因此，并非所有肋骨的运动方式或程度都相同。但大多数肋骨都会在一定程度上上升和扩张，使胸腔内部空间变大；当它们回到较低位置时，胸腔内部空间就会变小。

But how do we make the space inside the chest cavity get larger and smaller? We do it in two ways. First, the ribs, which form the chest cavity, are capable of rising like pail handles by moving at the joints where they attach to the spine; this action increases the space within the chest (fig. 2-1). The uppermost ribs connect in front to the sternum; those below form an arch below it; the last two, the floating ribs, do not attach in front. Because of this, not all the ribs move in the same way or to the same degree. But most of the ribs rise and widen to some extent, making the space inside the chest larger; when they return to their lower position, the space gets smaller.

其次，胸腔底部（或胸腔）与下方腹腔内容物之间，由穹顶状的横膈膜肌肉（图2-3）隔开。横膈膜收缩时，会使胸腔下部变平，从而增大胸腔下部的体积（图2-2）。当肋骨上升张开时，横膈膜收缩下降；胸腔体积增大，空气涌入肺部。当肋骨恢复正常位置时，横膈膜放松上升，空气被排出，我们呼气。

Second, the bottom of the chest, or thoracic cavity, is separated from the abdominal contents below by the dome-like muscle of the diaphragm (fig. 2-3), which by contracting can flatten out and thus increase the size of the lower part of the cavity (fig. 2-2). When the ribs rise and open, the diaphragm contracts and descends; the chest cavity increases in size, and air rushes in to fill the lungs. When the ribs return to normal position, the diaphragm relaxes and ascends, air is forced out, and we exhale.

这些动作通常并非主动发生。呼吸是一项至关重要的功能，它有节奏地自动发生，无需任何意志或控制。当我们说话或屏住呼吸时，我们有可能刻意地操纵或控制我们的呼吸。但如果我们大脑长时间缺氧，呼吸的自动性就会很快显现出来。同样值得注意的是，横膈膜或许仅次于心脏，它的活动对呼吸至关重要，是人体中最卖力的肌肉；在我们的余生中，它每隔几秒、每小时、每天就会有节奏地收缩一次，直到我们死去。

These movements do not usually take place voluntarily. Breathing is a vital function, and as such it occurs rhythmically and automatically, without having to be willed or controlled in any way. It is possible, when we speak or hold our breath, to deliberately manipulate or control our breathing. But the automatic nature of breathing demonstrates itself very quickly if we deny our brain oxygen for too long. It is also interesting to note that, perhaps second to the heart, the diaphragm, whose action is so essential to breathing, is the hardest working muscle in the body; for the rest of our lives, it will rhythmically contract every few seconds, every hour, every day, until we die.

同样需要注意的是，在胸腔充满空气之前，它并非完全空的。我们的肺在里面，肺里总是有一些空气，因为它们从不放气。但是，当我们增加胸腔内的容积时，肺部就会产生更多的空间，这会导致空气涌入肺部，填补额外的空间。

It is also important to note that before the chest cavity fills with air, it isn’t exactly empty. Our lungs are inside, and the lungs always have some air in them because they are never deflated. But when we increase the volume inside the chest cavity, this creates more space within the lungs, and that causes air to rush into the lungs to fill the extra space.

同样值得注意的是，为了呼吸，我们不会对空气做任何处理，也不以任何方式操纵它；空气通过口腔和鼻孔进出肺部，这是肋骨和横膈膜有节奏运动的间接结果。这意味着呼吸的质量并不取决于我们如何对待呼吸并非取决于空气，而是取决于我们如何对待自身；为了呼吸，我们与其说是在利用空气，不如说是在利用自己的身体。这一点至关重要，因为几乎我们所有人在开始发声时，都会想到呼吸，而我们真正应该关注的是呼吸所依赖的整体条件。

It is also important to note that, in order to breathe, we do not do anything to the air or manipulate it in any way; air comes in and out of the lungs by means of the mouth and nostrils as an indirect result of the rhythmic movements of the ribs and diaphragm. This means that the quality of breathing depends not on what we do with the air but on what we do with ourselves; in order to breathe, we do not do something with the air so much as with our own bodies. This is a point of crucial importance, since virtually all of us, when we start to vocalize, have the idea of taking a breath, when our focus really should be on the overall conditions on which breathing depends.

或许还值得一提的是，当我们呼吸时，并非空气扩张肋骨，而是肋骨的运动促使空气流入体内。有些人坚持认为，当他们呼吸时，呼吸似乎会扩张肋骨；他们难以相信空气无法像风箱一样推动肋骨。当我们呼吸时，空气进出肺部是肋骨和横膈膜运动的次要结果，而肋骨和横膈膜才是呼吸发生的主要动力。

It is probably also worth mentioning that, when we breathe, it is not the air that expands our ribs but the movement of our ribs that causes air to flow into our bodies. Some people insist that, when they breathe, the breath seems to expand their ribs; they find it hard to believe that air cannot move their rib cage any more than it can force a bellows open. When we breathe, the flow of air into and out of our lungs is a secondary result of movements of ribs and diaphragm, which are the main agents that cause breathing to take place.

呼吸的解剖学

The Anatomy of Breathing

我们都熟悉肋骨的基本结构。身体两侧各有十二根肋骨，对应脊柱的十二块胸椎（图 2-4）。前七根肋骨在前面连接到胸骨，称为真肋骨。其余五根肋骨称为假肋骨，因为它们并非直接连接到胸骨，而是相互连接在胸骨下方形成一个拱形，称为“肋弓”，在胸骨下方很容易触摸到。最后两根肋骨称为“浮肋”，因为它们没有绕到前面连接，因此可以自由“漂浮”。肋骨并非全是骨质的。在到达胸骨之前，它们会变成软骨，因此肋骨与胸骨以及整个肋弓的连接都很灵活，允许肋骨充分活动。

We are all familiar with the basic design of the rib cage. There are twelve ribs on each side of the body, corresponding to the twelve thoracic vertebrae of the spine (fig. 2-4). The first seven ribs attach in front to the sternum, or breastbone; these are called true ribs. The remaining five are called false ribs, because they do not attach directly to the sternum but join with each other to form an arch below the sternum called the “costal arch,” which can be easily felt below the sternum. The final two ribs are called “floating ribs” because they do not go all the way around to join in front and therefore “float” freely. The ribs are not bony all the way around. Before reaching the sternum they become cartilage, so that the connection of the ribs with the sternum, as well as the entire costal arch, is flexible and allows plenty of rib movement.

当然，在肋骨内，是肺和心脏。如果你找到胸骨，就会发现心脏位于胸骨下部的正后方，略偏左；肺位于心脏的两侧。横膈膜构成了胸腔的下边界；心脏和肺位于横膈膜上方，所有其他主要内脏器官位于横膈膜下方，因此横膈膜构成了躯干上下区域的边界。“横膈膜”实际上是希腊人对这块肌肉的描述性术语：意思是“隔墙”（图2-5）。

Within the rib cage, of course, are the lungs and heart. If you identify the sternum, the heart sits right behind the lower part of that and a little to the left; the lungs are on either side of the heart. The diaphragm forms the lower boundary of the thorax; the heart and lungs lie above the diaphragm, and all the other major internal organs lie below the diaphragm, which therefore forms a boundary between these upper and lower regions of the trunk. Diaphragm is actually a descriptive term the Greeks gave to this muscle: it means “a partition wall” (fig. 2-5).

我们大多数人都没有意识到，肋骨与背部脊柱连接处形成关节，这使得我们呼吸时肋骨能够活动。当我们吸气时，肋骨会在这些关节处旋转，就像稍微抬起桶柄一样。肋骨的抬起会增加胸腔的横向尺寸，而胸骨前方的抬起也会增加胸腔的前后尺寸（图 2-1）。肋骨抬起的同时，横膈膜收缩变平（图 2-2）。这会增加胸腔内的空间，空气就会涌入。当肋骨下降、横膈膜回升时，胸腔内的空间就会减少，空气就会被迫排出肺部。再说一次，我们不是通过对空气做些什么来呼吸，而是通过改变胸腔的大小来呼吸，而这又是肋骨和横膈膜运动的结果。

Most of us are not aware that our ribs form joints where they attach to the spine in back, which makes it possible to move the ribs when we breathe. When we breathe in, the ribs rotate at these joints, moving like pail handles being raised slightly. The raising of the ribs increases the lateral dimension of the thorax, and the raising of the sternum in front increases the anteroposterior dimensions of the thorax as well (fig. 2-1). At the same time that the ribs go up, the diaphragm contracts and flattens out (fig. 2-2). This increases the space within the thorax, and air rushes in. When the ribs descend and the diaphragm goes back up, this decreases the space in the thorax and air is forced out of the lungs. Again, we do not take a breath by doing something to the air but by changing the size of our thoracic cavity, which in turn occurs as the result of movements of the ribs and diaphragm.

呼吸和我们的直立设计

Breathing and Our Upright Design

然而，我们中的许多人却因为以有害的方式使用自己而干扰了这些运动。对于四足动物，例如狗或猫，肋骨基本上垂直悬挂在水平放置的脊柱上，使肋骨可以自由活动和伸展。然而，在直立的人体姿势下，肋骨会向下和向前倾斜，这意味着它们必须悬挂在上方。如果支撑躯干的肌肉功能正常，肋骨就能自由活动。然而，如果我们缩短、塌陷，或以任何方式干扰躯干的支撑，那么胸腔就会塌陷变形，肋骨就会失去活动能力和伸展能力。

What happens in many of us, however, is that we interfere with these movements because of the harmful way in which we use ourselves. In a four-footed animal such as a dog or cat, the ribs basically hang down vertically from a horizontally placed spine, leaving the ribs free to move and expand. In the upright human posture, however, the ribs slant down and forward, which means that they have to be suspended from above. If the muscles supporting the trunk are working properly, the ribs will move freely. If, however, we shorten and collapse or interfere in any way with the support of the trunk, then the rib cage becomes collapsed and distorted in shape, and the ribs lose their mobility and capacity to expand.

这种普遍存在的塌陷倾向会干扰我们保持直立的姿态，而准备说话时，我们往往会挺胸抬头、大口喘气，说话时也会塌陷缩短。这会导致整个胸部处于不适当的平衡状态——也就是说，胸部僵硬地保持，同时背部却变窄。这会阻止肋骨（背部需要活动）在呼吸时正常扩张。最终，呼吸功能和充分自然呼吸所需的灵活性都会受到影响。

This general tendency to collapse and interfere with our upright poise is compounded by the common tendency to raise the chest and to gasp for air when preparing to speak, and to collapse and shorten during speech. This causes the entire chest to become improperly poised—that is, to become rigidly held while at the same time narrowed in the back. This prevents the ribs, which need to move in the back, from properly expanding during breathing. The result is a general condition of interference with vital breathing capacity and the mobility necessary for full and natural breathing.

这种缩短和塌陷的趋势，通常会受到如今普遍存在的习惯——坐在电脑前或伏案工作时弯腰驼背——的助长。这不仅会导致前侧肌肉整体变短，还会削弱背部的支撑功能，使背部失去张力和伸展性。这还会给肋骨带来压力，因为肩膀不再自由地悬空在肋骨上方，而是向下挤压肋骨，导致肋骨受到挤压。

This tendency to shorten and collapse is usually aided and abetted by the habit, which is so common nowadays, of slumping and collapsing when sitting at a computer or doing desk work. This contributes to the overall tendency to lose front length, as well as to disengage the supportive function of the back, which loses tone and stretch. It also places pressure on the ribs, which become constrained because the shoulders, instead of floating freely above the rib cage, squeeze down on it.

这就是为什么我们的日常活动对呼吸如此重要。如果我们干扰自身活动——例如，如果我们向后仰头、收紧背部、挺胸抬头、扭曲躯干形状——那么肋骨就无法正常（且充分地）打开和下降。另一方面，当躯干得到适当支撑，背部肌肉得到拉伸和扩张时，肋骨就能自由活动，胸腔也能保持其最饱满的形状。换句话说，当我们整体协调一致时，呼吸所依赖的动作才能发挥最佳作用，从而确保尽可能充分地呼吸。

This is why our general use is so vital to breathing. If we interfere with ourselves—that is, if we pull back the head, narrow the back, lift the chest, and distort the shape of the torso—then the ribs will not properly (and fully) open up and descend. On the other hand, when the trunk is properly supported and the muscles of the back are lengthening and expansive, then the ribs can move freely and the rib cage can maintain its fullest shape. The movements on which breathing depends, in other words, will operate to best advantage when we are properly coordinated in the overall sense, which in turn ensures the fullest possible breathing.

直立支撑系统

The Upright Support System

有三个关键的肌肉系统确保躯干和胸腔得到适当的支撑，以及肋骨和横膈膜的灵活性。第一个系统是伸肌，它维持脊柱的长度并支撑躯干（图2-6）。第二个系统是屈肌，它沿着身体前部向上延伸，环绕腹部和躯干（图2-7）。由于伸肌和屈肌最终附着在头部，并倾向于将头部向后拉，缩短脊柱，因此头部在头骨上保持平衡，从而它对颈部和背部肌肉施加拉伸作用，椎骨作为间隔物，保持背部肌肉的长度。屈肌和伸肌与骨骼协同作用，支撑躯干，使躯干伸长和伸展（图2-8）。

There are three key muscle systems that ensure the proper support of the trunk and rib cage and the flexibility of the ribs and diaphragm. The first system is the extensors, which maintain the length of the spine and support the trunk (fig. 2-6). The second system is the flexors running up the front of the body and wrapping around the abdomen and trunk (fig. 2-7). Because the extensor and flexor muscles ultimately attach to the head and tend to pull it back and shorten the spine, the head is balanced forward on the skull in such a way that it exerts stretch on the muscles of the neck and back, and the vertebrae act as spacers to maintain length on the muscles of the back. Working in conjunction with the skeleton, the flexors and extensors are able to maintain support of the trunk in such a way that the trunk is lengthening and expansive (fig. 2-8).

第三组肌肉系统是支撑肋骨和肩胛带的背部肌肉外层（图2-9）。这些肌肉赋予胸腔灵活性，使肋骨能够在呼吸时活动，它们完全依赖于前两组肌肉和躯干的支撑。如果躯干得到适当的支撑，它们就能灵活地工作，肋骨和呼吸也能完全自由开放。另一方面，如果我们采取任何措施导致躯干塌陷或缩短，或以其他方式干扰躯干的正常支撑和长度，那么整个躯干的整体容量和形状就会受到影响。胸腔会受到损害，呼吸所需的运动也会受到阻碍。为了使呼吸正常进行，头部在脊柱上保持平衡，躯干伸展开来至关重要。这能让躯干获得最大程度的自由和灵活性，并让肋骨和横膈膜自由活动。1

The third muscle system is the outer layers of back muscles that support the ribs and shoulder girdle (fig. 2-9). These muscles, which impart flexibility to the rib cage so that the ribs can move in breathing, are completely dependent on the first two groups and the support of the trunk. If the trunk is properly supported, they are able to work flexibly, and the ribs and breathing are completely free and open. If, on the other hand, we do anything to collapse or shorten in the trunk or otherwise interfere with the proper support and length of the trunk, then the overall capacity and shape of the thorax will be compromised, and the movements on which breathing depends will be impeded. In order for the breathing to work properly, it is crucial that the head balance freely on the spine and the trunk lengthen and widen. This allows the trunk a maximum degree of freedom and mobility and permits the ribs and diaphragm to move freely.1

因此，呼吸或许是由神经系统自动进行的，但它与肌肉骨骼系统的运作密切相关。简而言之，适当的呼吸条件依赖于肌肉支撑系统。从这个意义上讲，适当的姿势支撑不仅仅帮助我们更好地呼吸。更准确地说，躯干的伸展和扩张支撑是呼吸赖以生存的首要条件。

Breathing, then, may be carried on automatically by the nervous system, but it is intimately connected with the working of the musculoskeletal system. Put simply, the proper conditions of breathing are dependent on the muscular support system. In this sense, proper postural support doesn’t just help us to breathe better. It would be more accurate to say that the lengthening, expansive support of the trunk is the primary condition on which breathing depends.

传统呼吸练习的谬误

The Fallacy of Traditional Breathing Exercises

尽管大多数人都认同呼吸在很大程度上是一个自动过程，应该自然地进行，但我们仍然继承了一些值得商榷的观念，这些观念在不知不觉中影响了我们对如何正确呼吸的理解。其中最基本的呼吸方法之一就是深呼吸，其理念源于这样一种观点：由于呼吸不足似乎与久坐不动的人姿势不良、体质虚弱有关，因此我们需要保持良好的姿势（挺胸收腹）并进行深呼吸，这既能增强呼吸肌的力量，又能增加氧气的摄入。

Although most people agree that breathing is a largely automatic process and should take place naturally, we have nevertheless inherited questionable concepts that unconsciously influence our approach to the question of how to breathe properly. One of the most basic of these is deep breathing, which derives from the idea that, since inadequate breathing seems to associated with deteriorated posture and weakened conditions in people living sedentary lives, we need to assume good posture (chest raised and belly in) and take deep breaths, which will both strengthen the breathing muscles and increase the intake of oxygen.

但这种练习存在两个问题。首先，锻炼吸气肌肉看似有用，但这样做只会让我们屏住呼吸，从而干扰呼吸赖以生存的潮气量。这只会加剧问题，因为如果我们屏住呼吸，呼出的空气就不多，潮气量（即我们实际吸入和呼出的空气量）就会减少——这在歌手中很常见，他们觉得自己唱歌时气息不足，于是试图扩张肋骨，“囤积”气息。这就是为什么胸腔容量小的人可能会如果呼吸所依赖的结构自由灵活，那么我们实际上比呼吸容量大的人吸入和呼出的空气更多。顺便说一句，这也是为什么专注于呼气比吸气更重要的原因：它阻止我们屏住呼吸，反而允许更多的空气吸入。呼吸本身并非与空间有关；它与肋骨和横膈膜运动所造成的空间差异有关，这需要协调性和灵活性，而不仅仅是呼吸容量。

But there are two problems with this practice. First, it may seem useful to exercise the muscles of inhalation, but doing so only causes us to hold our breath and thus interfere with the tidal flow on which breathing depends. This only compounds the problem because if we hold our breath, not much air can go out, and the tidal flow of air—the amount of air we actually breathe in and out—will be reduced—a common problem among singers who feel they lack enough breath for singing and try to expand the ribs and “hoard” the breath. This is why a person with a small chest capacity can actually breathe more air in and out than someone with a large capacity, if the structures on which breathing depends are free and mobile. This is also, incidentally, why it is more important to focus on breathing out than breathing in: it stops us from holding our breath and paradoxically allows more breath to come in. Breathing isn’t about space per se; it’s about the differential in space that is created by movement of the ribs and diaphragm, and this requires coordination and flexibility, not capacity alone.

其次，当我们强行吸气时，下肋骨会膨胀，胸部抬高，背部拱起，横膈膜会长期僵硬，导致我们无法正常呼气。这或许能带来立竿见影的效果，但长远来看，只会进一步扭曲和损害呼吸器官，最终干扰呼吸所依赖的整体状况。正如我们所见，呼吸中最重要的肌肉并非特定肌肉，而是确保这些特定肌肉正常工作的更大规模的肌肉系统。

Second, when we forcibly take air in, the lower ribs become distended, the chest is raised, the back is arched, and the diaphragm becomes chronically fixed so that we can’t breathe out properly. This may produce immediate benefits, but in the long run will only distort and damage the breathing organ further and ultimately interferes with the overall conditions on which breathing depends. As we’ve seen, the most important muscles in breathing are not the specific muscles but the larger muscle systems that ensure the proper working of these specific muscles.

应用于发声训练的最著名呼吸方法是平衡特定肌肉群的动作。呼吸老师通常认为呼吸有三种主要的呼吸动作或类型：锁骨呼吸或胸式呼吸、肋骨呼吸或肋式呼吸，以及腹式呼吸或横膈膜呼吸。2传统上，人们认为女性是胸式呼吸者，因为她们倾向于挺胸（或许是因为束身衣束缚了肋骨和腹部）；男性是腹式呼吸者，因为他们允许腹部活动更多。由于胸式呼吸会导致胸部在吸气时挺起，而在呼气时塌陷，因此歌唱老师通常建议保持肋骨扩张并放松腹部，以便横膈膜能够完全下降，从而实现更充分的吸气，然后保持肋骨张开，并用横膈膜控制呼气。3

The best-known breathing method as it applies to vocal training is to balance the action of specific muscle groups. Breathing teachers often recognize three major actions or types of breathing: clavicular or chest breathing, rib or costal breathing, and abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing.2 Traditionally, women were thought to be chest breathers because they tended to raise the chest (perhaps because corsets constricted the ribs and abdominal region); men were abdominal breathers because they allowed the belly to move more. Because chest breathing causes the chest to be raised on the in-breath and then to collapse during the out-breath, singing teachers often recommend maintaining the expansion of the ribs and relaxing the belly so that the diaphragm can fully descend to allow a fuller in-breath, and then holding the ribs open while controlling the outbreath with the diaphragm.3

但这种试图控制和改善呼吸的尝试值得怀疑，原因有三。首先，呼吸并不存在需要掌握、平衡或理解的不同“类型”，而简单地将呼吸分解成人为的类别，然后以这种方式进行分析，是基于肤浅的观察，而这种观察几乎无法解释正确认识呼吸的复杂性以及我们如何干预它。如果有人挺胸呼吸，指示他停止并改为腹式呼吸是没有用的，因为挺胸的动作表明整个呼吸过程受到了干扰，而尝试腹式呼吸只会使情况更加复杂。呼吸是一个整体，如果我们缺乏对整个呼吸系统如何运作的积极理解，无法防止干扰，并在此基础上恢复正常呼吸，那么试图操纵或控制呼吸的某些部分就没有什么实际意义。

But such attempts to control and improve breathing are questionable for three reasons. First, there aren’t different “types” of breathing that have to be mastered, balanced, or figured out, and simply breaking breathing down into artificial categories and then analyzing it in this way is based on superficial observations that hardly do justice to the complexity of breathing and how we interfere with it. If someone raises his chest to breathe, it does no good to instruct him to stop and instead breathe into his belly, since the action of raising the chest indicates that the entire breathing process has been interfered with, and attempting to breathe abdominally will only further complicate matters. Breathing works as a whole, and trying to manipulate or control specific components of breathing has little real meaning if we lack a positive understanding of how the system is meant to work as a whole, prevent interference with this, and restore normal breathing based on this total understanding.

其次，虽然腹肌确实间接地“控制”横膈膜，但这些肌肉与喉咙间接协调工作，只有在这种环境下才能得到适当的控制。因此，试图专门控制腹肌只会导致更大的紧张，并实际上通过让学生把注意力集中在所有错误的事情上来干扰整体呼吸。横膈膜当然对呼吸至关重要，但歌手、瑜伽练习者和其他呼吸“专家”对它过于关注，他们认为横膈膜是呼吸的主要媒介，而实际上它只是一个更大系统的一部分，只有在这种环境下才能正常工作。

Second, although the abdominal muscles do indirectly “control” the diaphragm, these muscles work indirectly in coordination with the throat and can only be properly controlled in this context. Attempts to specifically control the abdominal muscles, then, can only lead to greater tension and actually interfere with breathing as a whole by getting the student to focus on all the wrong things. The diaphragm is of course crucial to breathing, but altogether too much focus is placed on it by singers, yoga practitioners, and other breathing “experts,” who think it is the primary agent of breathing when it is in fact only part of a much larger system and can only work properly in this context.

第三，当学生专注于让肋骨扩张、腹部放松时，这会让他想到吸气，从而产生一种自相矛盾且意想不到的效果，即促使肋骨僵硬并屏住呼吸。只有当我们停止屏住呼吸，转而专注于躯干的灵活支撑时，横膈膜和肋骨才能充分灵活地运作；无论如何，我们不应该想着吸气，而应该想着呼气，这样才能恢复横膈膜和肋骨的自由。我们将在第五章讨论支撑时更详细地探讨这些问题。

Third, when the student focuses on allowing the ribs to expand and the belly to relax, this makes him think of breathing in and therefore has the paradoxical and unintended effect of encouraging stiffening of the ribs and holding of the breath. The only way the diaphragm and ribs can operate fully and flexibly is if we stop holding the breath and focus instead on the flexible support of the trunk; if anything, we should think not of breathing in but of letting the breath go out, so as to restore freedom to the diaphragm and ribs. We’ll look at these issues in greater detail in Chapter 5 when we discuss support.

呼吸的关键

The Key to Breathing

虽然呼吸在很大程度上是一种自主功能，但当然可以通过以下方式暂时操纵和控制我们的呼吸：吸气、将空气从肺部排出，并进行各种练习。正因如此，我们很容易认为呼吸可以独立于整体肌肉协调而得到控制和改善。但是，只要我们干扰了躯干的弹性支撑以及依赖于这种支撑的肋骨和横膈膜的灵活运动，任何具体的呼吸动作都无法正常进行。再次强调，肌肉系统的适当协调不仅仅帮助我们更好地呼吸。更准确地说，这种支撑是呼吸最有效的条件；躯干的伸展和扩张支撑是充分有效呼吸的必要条件。

Although respiration is a largely autonomic function, it is, of course, possible to temporarily manipulate and control our breathing by taking breath, forcing air out of the lungs, and practicing various exercises. Because of this, it is easy to assume that breathing can be controlled and improved on independently of our overall muscular coordination. But none of the specific movements of breathing can take place properly as long as we interfere with the elastic support of the trunk and the flexible movements of the ribs and diaphragm that depend on this support. Again, proper coordination of the muscular system doesn’t just help us to breathe better. It would be more accurate to say that this support is the condition under which breathing works most efficiently; the lengthening, expansive support of the trunk is the sine qua non of full and efficient breathing.

我们如何产生声音

How We Produce Sound

就像呼吸一样，喉咙的工作原理通常用复杂而令人生畏的科学语言来描述，但如果从它的功能来看，其实相当简单。我们先来看看喉咙是如何发声的；然后再讨论喉咙的活动。如果你给气球充气，然后用拇指和食指捏住气球颈部，慢慢放气，气球就会发出尖锐的吱吱声。这是因为空气从一个非常狭窄的孔隙中逸出，导致气球边缘振动，从而产生声波。

Like breathing, the working of the larynx is often described in complex and intimidating scientific language, but it is rather simple if you look at it in terms of what it does. Let’s look first at how the larynx makes sound; afterward we’ll discuss the actions of the larynx. If you inflate a balloon and, pinching the neck of the balloon between your thumb and index finger, slowly let air out, the balloon will begin to emit a high-pitched squeak. This is because the air, which is escaping through a very narrow aperture, causes the edges of the balloon to vibrate, which creates sound waves.

这就是喉部发声的基本原理。正常呼吸时，空气畅通无阻地通过喉部（图 3-1a）。但当我们想要发出声音时，我们会将声带边缘收拢，这样从肺部排出的空气就必须通过由两个声带形成的狭窄孔道（图 3-1b）。这会导致声带振动，从而进而产生声波（图 3-1c）。这些声波随后在声道（由喉咙和口腔形成的腔体）中产生共振，形成完整的人声。1

This, in a very basic way, is how the larynx works to produce sound. When we breathe normally, air passes through the larynx unimpeded (fig. 3-1a). But when we intend to make sound, we bring the edges of the vocal folds together so that air exiting our lungs now has to go through the narrow aperture formed by the two vocal folds (fig. 3-1b). This causes the vocal folds to vibrate, which in turn creates sound waves (fig. 3-1c). These sound waves then resonate in the vocal tract—the cavities formed by throat and mouth—to create the fully-formed sound of the human voice.1

那么，从最基本的层面来说，喉部是一个振动机制，它首先包含声带，也就是真正的振动器；其次，声带的外壳；第三，可以控制声带收缩的肌肉，这样当我们想要交流时，声带就会振动并发出声音。但请记住，发声或发声并非喉部的唯一功能，喉部最初进化为用于关闭气道的括约肌，后来才进化为产生声音的振动器。2 当然，喉部仍然保留着这一主要功能，每当我们吞咽或屏住呼吸时，它都会完全闭合。在这些情况下，喉部不是像发声时那样部分或松散地闭合，而是紧密闭合，防止食物进入气管，防止空气从肺部逸出。

At the most basic level then, the larynx is a vibration mechanism that contains first, the vocal folds, which are the actual vibrators; second, a housing for the vocal folds; and third, muscles that can move the vocal folds together so that when we want to communicate, they will vibrate to create sound. Remember, though, that sound production, or phonation, is not the only function of the larynx, which originally evolved as a sphincter for closing the airway and only later became modified to act as a vibrator for producing sound.2 The larynx, of course, still retains this primary function, closing fully whenever we swallow or hold our breath. In these cases, the larynx is not partially or loosely closed, as in vocalizing, but tightly closed, preventing food from entering the trachea and air from escaping from the lungs.

移动声带

Moving the Vocal Folds

现在让我们看看我们是如何打开和关闭声带的。喉部的主要结构是甲状软骨，你可以摸到它，就像喉结一样，位于喉咙前部。两个声带呈V字形位于甲状软骨内侧，V字的尖端附着在喉结后方的软骨上。在V字的另一端，声带附着在两个可移动的杓状软骨上，这两个杓状软骨位于环状软骨上（图3-2）。当肌肉旋转两个杓状软骨时，V字的两侧会闭合和分开，从而关闭和打开声带之间的空间，即声门。在正常呼吸过程中，V字会张开，使声门打开，气流在声带之间畅通无阻地通过（图3-3a）。当我们发声时，然而，两个杓状软骨会滑动到一起，靠近声带并关闭声门（图3-3b）。空气在声带之间流动，导致声带振动，从而产生声音。

Let’s look now at how we open and close the vocal folds. The main housing of the larynx is the thyroid cartilage, which you can feel as the Adam’s apple on the front of the throat. The two vocal folds are situated like a V on the inside of the thyroid cartilage, with the pointed end of the V attached to the cartilage just behind the Adam’s apple. At the other end of the V, the vocal folds attach to two movable bits called the arytenoid cartilages, which sit on the cricoid, or “ring,” cartilage (fig. 3-2). When muscles rotate the two arytenoid cartilages, this brings the two sides of the V together and apart to close and open the space between the vocal folds, called the glottis. During normal breathing, the V is spread apart so that the glottis is open and breath passes unimpeded between the vocal folds (fig. 3-3a). When we vocalize, however, the two arytenoids slide together to approximate the vocal folds and close the glottis (fig. 3-3b). Air traveling between the vocal folds causes them to oscillate, which results in sound.

有趣的是，尽管有一组肌肉旋转软骨以分开声带，但它们实际上能够以两种不同的方式闭合。在正常发声过程中，声带会沿着其整个长度闭合，因此从气管中流出的空气会使声带振动，从而产生正常的发声（图 3-3b）。声带也可以以这样的方式闭合，即在软骨旋转以将它们闭合的末端留出一个缝隙。然后，从气管流出的空气可以通过这个缝隙逸出，从而产生气流的“耳语”声（图 3-4）。

It is interesting to consider that, although there is one set of muscles that rotates the cartilages to separate the vocal folds, they are actually able to close in two different ways. During normal vocalization, the vocal folds come together along their entire length, so that air passing out of the windpipe causes them to oscillate, creating a normal vocalized sound (fig. 3-3b). The vocal folds can also close in such a way that a chink of space remains at the end where the cartilages rotate to bring them together. Air coming out of the trachea is then able to escape through this chink, causing the “whispered” sound of rushing air (fig. 3-4).

喉部处于这种“耳语”位置，当然可以让我们轻声说话，或者说，避免正常说话时的振动。但它也有利于矫正和教学，因为它为我们提供了一种以与平常的发声习惯不同的方式使用声带的方法。这样，我们就能运用发声机制，而不会让这些有害的发声习惯发挥作用。因此，耳语提供了一种现成的方法。学习如何发声，避免常见的有害使用模式。我们将在第10章至第12章深入探讨这个姿势，以及如何将其作为克服发声困难的技巧。

This “whisper” position of the larynx of course makes it possible to speak softly, or without the usual vibrations of normal speech. But it is also useful for remedial and pedagogical purposes because it provides us with a means of engaging the vocal folds in a way that is not associated with our usual vocal habits. We are then able to employ the vocal mechanism, but without bringing these harmful habits into play. Whispering thus provides a ready means of learning to vocalize without the usual pattern of harmful use. We’ll look in depth at this position and its use as a technique for overcoming difficulties associated with vocalizing in Chapters 10 to 12.

喉部拉伸器和张紧器

Stretchers and Tensors of the Larynx

除了控制声门开合的肌肉外，甲状软骨和环状软骨两侧还有一对肌肉，它们通过使甲状软骨前端向外倾斜，远离环状软骨来调节音调（图3-5）。由于声带一端附着于甲状软骨，另一端附着于环状软骨上的杓状软骨，因此甲状软骨和环状软骨会通过这种方式向外移动。拉伸或拉长声带（图 3-6）。就像拉紧吉他弦一样，拉伸声带会使声带绷紧，并增加其振动速度，从而提高音调。这些“拉伸器”的作用是我们在日常唱歌和说话时提高或降低音调的主要方式。

In addition to the muscles that open and close the glottis, there is a pair of muscles, located on either side of the thyroid and cricoid cartilages, that regulate pitch by tipping the front end of the thyroid cartilage away from the cricoid cartilage (fig. 3-5). Because the vocal folds attach at one end to the thyroid cartilage and at the other to the arytenoid cartilages that sit on the cricoid cartilage, moving the thyroid and cricoid cartilages apart in this way stretches or lengthens the vocal folds (fig. 3-6). Like tightening the strings of a guitar, stretching the vocal folds makes them tauter and increases the speed at which they vibrate, raising the pitch. The action of these “stretchers” is the primary way that we raise and lower the pitch of our voice in everyday singing and speech.

声带本身在发声过程中也发挥着积极作用——不仅仅是因为它们振动产生声音，还因为它们实际上是由可以收缩的肌肉纤维组成的。从而调节声带的长度和厚度。这会从三个方面影响音调。首先，通过收缩，声带可以抵抗拉伸，从而保持其厚度，产生更饱满的音调。其次，当声带放松并被动拉伸时，它们可以发出更高的音调和更明显的假声。最后，通过轻柔收缩，这些肌肉能够比完全松弛时更有效地振动；这使得歌手能够“集中”音调，并在发声中创造微妙的差别，而熟练的声乐老师能够听出这些差别，并通过向学生提供各种指导来影响这些差别。

The vocal folds themselves also play an active role in vocalization—not simply because they vibrate to produce sound but because they are actually made up of muscle fibers that can contract and thus regulate the length and thickness of the vocal folds. This affects the vocal tone in three ways. First, by contracting, the vocal folds resist being stretched and in this way maintain their thickness, which produces a fuller tone. Second, when the vocal folds relax and are passively stretched, this allows them to produce a higher pitch with a more falsetto sound. Finally, by gently contracting, these muscles are able to vibrate more efficiently than when they are entirely lax; this makes it possible for the singer to “focus” the tone and to create subtle nuances in sound production, which a skilled singing teacher is able to hear and to influence by giving the student various instructions.

声带（有时也称为声带肌）也能强行收缩并完全闭合喉部。正如我们所见，喉部起到括约肌的作用，封闭气道，防止水或食物进入。声带上方还有另一组肌肉协助声带收缩，这组肌肉被称为甲杓肌；由于它们在发声中不起作用，有时也称为假声带。这两组肌肉，即声带肌和甲杓肌，统称为喉咙张紧肌——本文中的“喉咙”指的是喉部（图 3-7）。

The vocal folds—sometimes referred to as the vocalis muscles—are also able to forcibly contract and completely close the larynx, which as we saw acts as a sphincter muscle that seals off the airway and protects water or food from entering. They are assisted in this action by another set of muscles, just above the vocal folds, known as the thyroarytenoid muscles; these are sometimes referred to as the false vocal cords because they play no role in vocalization. These two sets of muscles, the vocalis and thyroarytenoids, are collectively known as tensors of the throat—“throat” in this context referring to the larynx (fig. 3-7).

喉部内在肌肉

The Intrinsic Muscles of the Larynx

为了方便起见，喉部肌肉可以分为三类：打开和关闭声门的肌肉（开肌和闭肌）；调节声带张力或伸展的肌肉（伸展肌）；以及声带本身的肌肉（张紧肌）。旋转和滑动杓状软骨的肌肉负责打开和关闭声门。移动甲状软骨和环状软骨相对运动的肌肉负责通过拉伸声带来增加声带的长度。声带，或称声带肌，能够在发声过程中通过自身运动收紧。

For convenience, then, the muscles of the larynx can be divided into three categories: those that open and close the glottis (the openers and closers); those that regulate the tension, or stretch, on the vocal folds (the stretchers); and the vocal folds themselves (the tensors). The muscles that rotate and slide the arytenoid cartilages open and close the glottis. The muscles that move the thyroid and cricoid cartilages in relation to each other are responsible for increasing the length of the vocal folds by stretching them. And the vocal folds, or vocalis muscles, are capable of tightening by their own action during vocalization.

实际上，所有这些功能共同作用，才产生了我们用嗓子发出的不同声音。例如，当我们收拢声带时，也必须稍微收紧它们，以对气流产生轻微的阻力。同时，声带必须伸展才能改变音调。即使是产生耳语姿势的肌肉，在唱歌时也经常活跃起来，因为它们有助于将声带的中部推拢，从而改善声带的振动。因此，构成喉部的不同解剖结构往往像一个相互关联的整体一样运作。

In practice, all of these functions combine to produce the different sounds we make with our voices. When, for instance, we bring the vocal folds together, we must also tighten them somewhat to produce a slight resistance to the air flow. At the same time, the vocal folds must be stretched to alter the pitch. Even the muscles that produce the whisper position are often active in singing because they help to push the center portion of the vocal folds together and thus improve the vibratory action of the vocal folds. For this reason, the different anatomical elements that make up the larynx tend to operate as one interrelated whole.

喉部和呼吸

The Larynx and the Breath

喉部的工作方式也与我们的呼吸方式密切相关。如果你正常地吸气和呼气，然后在呼气时发出声音，并且保持呼吸方式不变，你会发现发出的声音更像是叹息而不是歌唱的音调，缺乏“焦点”并且很快消失——歌手称之为“无支撑”的音调。相比之下，真正的歌唱音调焦点清晰，可以轻松维持十秒或更长时间。这是因为当我们正确唱歌时，呼吸和喉部会以这样的方式协调：气息在流动中得到调节，声带也紧密贴合，从而有效地振动，并且几乎没有空气从它们之间逸出。当我们唱歌，甚至说话时，我们不仅仅是关闭声带阻止正常的空气流出，而是协调这两个系统来产生持续的、集中的音调，并可以形成音乐声音。

The working of the larynx is also intimately connected with the way we breathe. If you breathe in and out normally and then vocalize on one of the out-breaths without altering your manner of breathing, you’ll notice that the resulting sound, which is more like a sigh than a sung tone, lacks “focus” and dies out very quickly—what singers call an “unsupported” tone. In contrast, a true sung tone has focus and clarity and can be sustained easily for ten seconds or more. This is because when we sing properly, the breathing and the larynx are coordinated in such a way that the breath is regulated in its flow and the vocal folds, in turn, are closely approximated so that they vibrate efficiently and very little air escapes between them. When we sing and even when we speak, we aren’t simply closing the vocal folds against the normal outflow of air but coordinating the two systems to produce a sustained, focused tone that can be shaped into musical sounds.

有些歌手会收紧腹肌或扩张肋骨来支撑音调，这反过来又会增加流经喉部的气流。但声带对增加的呼吸压力反应不佳，这会导致声音紧张或“压迫感”，久而久之会损害声带。从这个意义上讲，喉部并非管乐器——也就是说，它并非通过用力吹过声门来振动。当喉部正常工作时，呼吸和喉部会自动协同工作，使声带在绝对最小的气压下高效振动。

Some singers try to support the tone by tightening the abdominal muscles or expanding the ribs, which in turn increases the flow of breath through the larynx. But the vocal folds do not respond well to increased breath pressure, which creates a strained or “pressed” sound and over time can damage the vocal folds. In this sense, the larynx isn’t a wind instrument—that is, it isn’t meant to be vibrated by forcefully blowing air through the glottis. When working properly, the breathing and the larynx automatically work together so that the vocal folds vibrate very efficiently with an absolute minimum of air pressure.

喉部和大脑

The Larynx and the Brain

但是喉部是如何“知道”何时收拢声带，或者收缩到什么程度的呢？当我们正常呼吸时，神经系统的运作方式是自动保持声带张开，这样我们就能顺畅地获取所需的氧气。然而，当我们想到某个特定的音调或声音，或者想要表达某种想法或感受时——比如唱歌时——这种心理意图就会转化为信号，传送到喉部，使声带收拢并调节其张力。

But how does the larynx “know” when to draw the vocal folds together, or how much they should contract? When we breathe normally, the nervous system is wired in such a way that the vocal folds are automatically kept apart so that there is no impediment to getting the oxygen we need. However, when we think of a particular pitch or sound, or want to communicate a thought or feeling—as we do when we sing—this mental intention is translated into signals to the larynx that bring the vocal folds together and regulate their tension level.

有趣的是，我们无法像控制手指或手臂那样有意识地控制喉部肌肉。这其中有明确的原因。当我们拿起玻璃杯或在键盘上打字时，我们需要能够有意识地控制手指和手臂的运动，这样才能在物理空间中产生动作。相比之下，喉部的设计目的是发出声音，而不是运动；因此，它受大脑中负责听觉并将不同声音联系在一起以传达思想和感受的区域控制。这就是为什么天生耳聋的人永远无法完全控制声音的原因：由于缺乏声音经验，他们无法充分调动大脑中控制语音和歌曲形成肌肉的中枢。发声训练很大程度上在于辨别歌唱所需的各种音质，并由此调节与这些音质相对应的发声功能。

It’s interesting to consider that we cannot control the muscles of the larynx consciously the way we can control our fingers or arms. There is a definite reason for this. When we pick up a glass or type on a keyboard, we need to be able to deliberately control the movements of our fingers and arms so that we can produce actions in physical space. The larynx, in contrast, is designed to produce sound, not movement; for this reason it is governed by the part of the brain that hears sounds and ties different sounds together to communicate thoughts and feelings. This is why people who are born deaf are never able to acquire complete control over the voice: with no experience of sound, they are unable to fully engage the centers of the brain that control the muscles involved in the formation of speech and song. Vocal training consists, to a large extent, in being able to distinguish the various tonal qualities required in singing and thus to be able to regulate the vocal functions corresponding to these qualities.

因此，喉部展现出令人惊叹的范围和精妙的动作，或许是身体其他部位都无法比拟的。通过协调呼吸肌和喉部闭合，喉部的振动机制以最精妙微妙的方式发挥作用。通过激活喉部肌肉，喉部在高音C或在整个管弦乐队中演唱时，在喉部肌肉网络中得到支撑。通过控制声带的精细肌肉组织，我们控制音高并创造出细微的音色差异。大脑协调所有这些活动，产生人类声音的优美而富有表现力的声音——这真是工程学和设计的奇迹。

The larynx thus exhibits a marvelous range and subtlety of action that is perhaps unparalleled anywhere in the body. By coordinating the muscles of breathing with the closure of the larynx, the vibratory mechanism of the larynx is brought into play in the most exquisite and subtle way. By activating the muscles of the throat, the larynx is supported within the muscular network of the throat during the athletic act of hitting a high C or singing over a full orchestra. By controlling the delicate musculature of the vocal folds, we control the pitch and create fine nuances of timbre. And the brain orchestrates all of this activity to produce the beautiful and expressive sounds of the human voice—a true marvel of engineering and design.

悬吊喉

The Suspended Larynx

如果你检查颅底的颞骨，你会发现有两个小尖刺，称为茎突，它们从颅骨两侧嵌入，因此不可见或不可触及。喉头正上方是一块马蹄形的骨头，称为舌骨，它构成舌根（有时也称为“舌骨”）。舌骨通过肌肉悬挂在茎突上，而喉头则悬挂在舌骨和茎突上（图 4-1）。喉头还固定在下方的胸骨和后方的喉咙上，因此它实际上悬挂在一个肌肉支架内，有时称为喉头悬肌，这些肌肉从各个方向拮抗地支撑着它（图 4-2）。1

If you examine the temporal bones on the base of the skull, you’ll see that there are two small spikes, called the styloid processes, that are set in from the sides of the skull and so are not visible or palpable. Just above the larynx is a horseshoe-shaped bone, called the hyoid bone, that forms the base of the tongue (it is sometimes called the “tongue bone”). The hyoid bone is suspended from the styloid processes by muscles, and the larynx is suspended from the hyoid bone and from the styloid processes (fig. 4-1). It is also anchored to the sternum below and the throat behind, so that it is literally suspended within a muscular scaffolding, sometimes called the suspensory muscles of the larynx, which antagonistically support it from various directions (fig. 4-2).1

这些外在肌肉是歌唱和说话器官的重要组成部分。当我们听到男高音唱高音时，这些肌肉会从不同方向拮抗性地拉动，以保持喉部伸展，使其发挥最佳功能。当你唱高音时，你可以看到这些外在肌肉的活动：大多数人的喉部会随着音符的上升而明显上升，这是由于提升舌骨和喉部的肌肉过度活动造成的。训练有素的歌手能够平衡地激活支撑喉部的悬吊肌，使其从多个方向受到拮抗性拉动，这对音色、共鸣和音域有非常显著的影响。喉部正常工作的能力，以及用“张开喉咙”唱歌的能力，在很大程度上取决于喉部悬吊肌的正常运作及其与我们直立姿势的关系。

This extrinsic musculature forms a crucial part of the singing and speaking apparatus. When we hear a tenor singing a high note, these muscles antagonistically pull from different directions to maintain stretch on the larynx in order for it to function optimally. You can see the action of these extrinsic muscles when you sing up a scale: in most people the larynx will visibly ascend with the rising notes as a result of overactivity of the muscles that elevate the hyoid bone and larynx. A trained singer is able to activate the suspensory muscles that support the larynx in a balanced way so that it is antagonistically pulled upon from several directions, which has a very marked effect on timbre, resonance, and vocal range. The ability of the larynx to work properly, as well as the ability to sing with an “open throat,” depend to a large extent on the proper working of these suspensory muscles of the larynx and their relation to our upright posture.

相反，如果歌手的喉咙容易拖拽，或者喉部塌陷，就无法保持喉咙张开，在歌唱过程中激活或“挺立”发声机制也会更加困难，这意味着悬吊肌无法充分发挥作用，声音也会失去力量和灵活性。为了正常运作，喉部必须自由地悬吊在头骨上，而不会破坏头部在脊柱上的必要平衡，而是从更大的直立系统获得支撑，而不是干扰它。喉部保持张开，喉部的悬吊肌就能自然地“挺立”发声机制。例如，对于颈部呈柱状的男高音来说，颈部和喉部肌肉天生发达，为喉部提供稳定的支撑。这样，喉部就能张开自由，喉部就能轻松悬吊，进行歌唱这种运动。

In contrast, a singer who tends to drag on the throat, or who collapses in this region, will not be able to maintain an open throat, and will also have more trouble activating or “erecting” the vocal mechanism during singing, which means that the suspensory muscles will not adequately perform their duty and that the voice will lose in strength and flexibility. In order to function properly, the larynx must be suspended freely from the skull without upsetting the necessary balance of the head on the spine, gaining its support from the larger upright system rather than interfering with it. The throat remains open, and the suspensory musculature of the larynx is able to naturally “erect” the vocal mechanism. In tenors with pillar-like necks, for instance, the neck and throat muscles are naturally well developed and provide a stable support for the larynx. The throat is then open and free, and the larynx can be brought into suspension for the athletic activity of singing with little effort.

压低喉头

Depressing the Larynx

然而，随着时间的推移，我们许多人发声的方式会导致喉咙塌陷和收紧。喉咙的肌肉变得紧绷收缩，喉头被拉向下方。由于习惯性过度劳累的肌肉被拉扯。由于喉咙和喉头从颅底垂下，这会对颅骨和上脊柱造成拖拽，并影响躯干的长度，从而干扰直立支撑系统（图4-3）。这种情况在某些歌手身上表现得相当明显，他们唱高音或长乐句时，颈部和喉咙的肌肉看起来好像在紧张。

Over time, however, many of us use the voice in such a way that we collapse and tighten the throat. The musculature of the throat becomes tight and constricted, and the larynx is pulled downward by the tugging of muscles that are habitually overworked. Because the throat and larynx hang down from the base of the skull, this creates a drag on the skull and upper spinal column and compromises the length of the trunk, thus interfering with the upright support system (fig. 4-3). This is sometimes quite visible in some singers, who look as if they are straining the neck and throat muscles whenever they sing high notes or long phrases.

许多因素会导致喉咙肌肉紧张，但其中最主要的或许是不良的说话习惯。用力过猛、用力过猛的人容易导致喉咙肌肉萎缩，导致声音嘶哑；长时间这样说话会对整个身体系统造成抑郁和活力丧失的影响。专业的演讲者和歌手经常会形成颈部和肋骨肌肉紧张的有害模式，习惯性地绷紧喉咙肌肉，并在乐句之间喘气。2

A number of factors contribute to the tightening of the throat muscles, but perhaps the main one is harmful habits of speech. People who use the voice in a heavy, enervated manner tend to collapse the musculature of the throat, resulting in a hoarse, throaty tone of voice; prolonged speaking in this way can have a depressive and devitalizing effect on the whole system. Professional speakers and singers often develop harmful patterns of tension in the muscles of the neck and ribs, habitually tensing the throat muscles and gasping for air between phrases.2

久坐的生活方式也会导致上颚、舌头和喉咙塌陷。在办公桌前工作时，许多人的上颚会塌陷，他们无法通过鼻孔自由呼吸，而是用嘴巴沉重地呼吸。即使在睡觉时，我们许多人的喉咙肌肉也会塌陷并收紧。所有这些因素加在一起，会导致喉咙和声道的滥用、紧张和塌陷，进而拖累头骨和上脊柱，损害直立支撑系统。

A sedentary lifestyle can also contribute to the tendency to collapse the palate, tongue, and throat. While performing desk work, many people collapse the palate and, instead of breathing freely through the nostrils, breathe heavily through the mouth. Even while sleeping, many of us collapse and tighten the throat muscles. All these tendencies add up to misuse, tension, and collapse of the throat and vocal tract that in turn drag on the skull and upper spinal column and compromise the upright support system.

相反，当躯干伸长，头部离开喉咙时，下颌和舌头下方的肌肉网状结构会得到放松，变得更加张开和放松。悬挂在头部的喉部可以开始在其肌肉网络中放松，因为头部和躯干正在伸长并适当地支撑着喉咙肌肉，这使得喉部能够重新在其肌肉“支架”内获得适当的悬挂（图4-4）。这使得喉部能够在其肌肉网络中更自由地浮动；这也使得不再被拖拽的上部脊柱和躯干能够恢复其完整的长度和支撑力。

When, in contrast, the trunk lengthens and the head comes up off the throat, the webbing of muscles under the jaw and tongue release to become more open and relaxed. The larynx, which is suspended from the head, can begin to release within its muscular network because the head and trunk are lengthening and properly supporting the throat musculature, which allows the larynx to regain its proper suspension within its muscular “scaffolding” (fig. 4-4). This permits the larynx to float more freely within its muscular network; it also allows the upper spinal column and trunk, which will no longer be dragged on, to regain their full length and support.

开放式喉咙和我们的直立设计

The Open Throat and Our Upright Design

喉咙与直立支撑系统之间的关系是决定喉咙“开放”还是“闭合”的最关键因素。许多歌手认为，只要有足够的训练和天赋，他们就能获得发声结构的自由。但人们很容易忘记，悬吊装置的整体结构对于正确的发声至关重要，而且这个系统往往是确保正常运作的隐形背景。虽然可以通过学习改变咽喉形状、调整发声位置或抬高软腭来实现喉咙的一定程度的自由，但真正开放的喉咙是一种在幼儿中普遍存在的状态，如果整个支撑系统没有受到干扰，并且喉咙肌肉自由地悬挂在头骨上，这种状态就会自然存在。我们可以从幼儿清晰而尖锐的声音中听到开放的喉咙，他们的喉咙肌肉完全自由，几乎不用费力就能发出很大的音量。歌唱老师通过鼓励特定的释放来努力实现这种状态，但真正开放的喉咙最终取决于我们直立的姿势支撑，如果它所依赖的一般条件受到干扰，则无法通过特定的努力来实现。

This relationship of the throat to the upright support system is the single most crucial factor in determining whether the throat is “open” or “closed.” Many singers believe that, with enough training and talent, they will be able to achieve freedom in the vocal structures. But it is easy to forget that the overall structure of the suspensory apparatus is essential to proper vocal use, and that this system is often the invisible background that ensures proper functioning. Although some freedom of the throat can be achieved by learning to alter the shape of the pharynx, to place the voice well, or to raise the soft palate, a truly open throat is a condition, found universally among young children, that exists naturally if the overall support system hasn’t been interfered with and the throat musculature is freely suspended from the skull. We can hear what an open throat sounds like in the clear and piercing voices of young children, whose throat musculature is entirely free and who can achieve high levels of volume with little effort. Singing teachers strive for this condition by encouraging specific releases, but a truly open throat is ultimately dependent on our upright postural support and cannot be achieved through specific efforts if the general conditions on which it depends are interfered with.

同样的原理也适用于下颌，它与喉咙的肌肉组织密切相关。下颌与头骨连接，形成一种可摆动的铰链关节，并受到三组用于磨碎和咀嚼食物的强力肌肉的作用（图4-5）。这些肌肉经常会长期收缩，干扰下颌的活动自由，并在喉咙中产生紧张。许多歌唱方法建议通过活动下颌、进行放松肌肉或张大下颌的练习来放松或放松下颌。但下颌是作为喉咙和进食机制的一部分进化而来的（图4-6）；如果下颌和喉咙下侧的肌肉变得紧张，下颌肌肉就会被迫通过长期收紧来补偿。相反，如果由于头部在头骨上保持平衡向前，喉咙肌肉能够放松，那么，下颌不会拉动头骨，而是自由地悬挂在头骨上，这样下颌肌肉就不再需要收缩，而是会自然放松（图4-7）。简而言之，下颌的自由度完全取决于喉咙肌肉及其悬挂源自头骨；与喉咙一样，下颌保持紧张的关键在于头部保持适当的平衡，以及颈部和躯干的自由度，这能让下颌和喉咙的肌肉得到放松，并使下颌能够相对于头骨自由活动。我们将在第7章探讨喉咙时更详细地探讨下颌。

The same principle applies to the jaw, which is closely related to the musculature of the throat. The jaw forms a kind of swinging hinge joint where it articulates with the skull, and is acted on by three sets of powerful muscles designed for grinding and chewing food (fig. 4-5). These muscles often become chronically contracted, interfering with the freedom of movement of the jaw and creating tension in the throat. Many singing methods recommend freeing or loosening the jaw by moving it about or by performing exercises for releasing the muscles or opening the jaw more widely. But the jaw evolved as part of the throat and feeding mechanism (fig. 4-6); if the muscles on the underside of the jaw and throat become tight, the jaw muscles are forced to compensate by chronically tightening. In contrast, if the muscles of the throat are able to release because the head is balanced forward on the skull, and the throat muscles, instead of pulling on the skull, are freely suspended from the skull, then the jaw muscles will no longer have to contract and will sympathetically release (fig. 4-7). In short, the freedom of the jaw is entirely dependent on the throat musculature and its suspension from the skull; as with the throat, the key to tension in the jaw is proper head balance and freedom in the neck and trunk, which allow the muscles of the jaw and throat to release and enables the jaw to move freely in relation to the skull. We’ll examine the jaw in more detail when we look at the throat in Chapter 7.

这并不是说，歌手只需要拉长身材就能掌握打开喉咙的全部技巧。完整的发声训练必须解决一些具体问题，例如抬高上颚和保持喉部降低（我们将在第6章和第7章中讨论）。然而，如果歌手喉咙的整体状况不佳，仅仅关注这些细节并不能保证良好的发声能力。自由悬垂的喉咙是健康发声的基本前提，最终不仅取决于特定的发声特质，还取决于整体肌肉的支撑。

This is not to say that lengthening in stature is all a singer needs to know about opening the throat. To be complete, vocal training must address a number of specific issues such as raising the palate and maintaining a lowered larynx (which we will examine in Chapters 6 and 7). However, attention to such details will not establish good vocal use if the general condition of the singer’s throat is compromised. A freely suspended throat is a fundamental prerequisite of healthy vocalization and is ultimately dependent not only on specific vocal qualities but on overall muscular support.

因此，与我们研究过的其他系统一样，喉咙的悬肌最终依赖于直立支撑系统，尤其是作为其关键组织因素的头躯干关系。当伸肌和屈肌适当支撑躯干，使头部在脊柱上自由平衡且躯干伸长时，这往往会释放喉咙的悬肌，使喉咙重新获得其与头部的正常悬置；喉咙不再向下拖拽头部，而是悬挂在头部（图4-2）。最终，由头躯干关系组织起来的直立支撑系统是释放喉咙悬肌的关键。

As with the other systems we have looked at, then, the suspensory muscles of the throat are ultimately dependent on the upright support system and in particular on the head-trunk relationship that is its key organizing factor. When the extensor and flexor muscles are properly supporting the trunk so that the head balances freely on the spine and the trunk lengthens, this tends to release the suspensory musculature of the throat, allowing the throat to regain its proper suspension from the head; instead of dragging down on the head, the throat now hangs from the head (fig. 4-2). In the end, the upright support system, organized by the head-trunk relationship, is the key to the release of the suspensory muscles of the larynx.

总而言之，喉部通常被描述为一个独立的发声器官，但实际上，只有当其悬吊肌得到适当激活，才能在发声过程中拮抗性地悬吊和拉伸喉部时，它才能正常运作。而这些悬吊肌的关键在于直立支撑系统，因为喉部悬挂在头骨上，只有当整个系统组织良好时，才能在其悬吊支架内释放。与肋骨和横膈膜一样，喉部和咽喉是支撑我们抵抗重力直立身体系统不可或缺的一部分。

To summarize, the larynx is often described as a discrete organ for producing sound, but in fact it functions properly only when its suspensory muscles are properly activated so that they can suspend and stretch the larynx antagonistically during the act of vocalization. The key to these suspensory muscles, in turn, is the upright support system, since the larynx is suspended from the skull and can release within its suspensory scaffolding only when this entire system is properly organized. Like the ribs and diaphragm, the larynx and throat are an integral part of the system that supports us upright against gravity.

什么是支持？

What Is Support?

在声乐研究领域，关于支撑点及其实现方法存在诸多争议，但所有歌手都一致认为，为了唱歌，呼吸的管理方式必须与正常呼气时不同。如果你随意地吸气和呼气，不改变正常的呼吸模式，并在呼气时发出声音，你会注意到发出的声音沙哑而乏味，而且很快就会消失，因为几乎没有气息来维持它。这种声音（甚至不是真正的歌声）似乎缺乏能量；它缺乏“支撑”。当我们更有信心地发出声音，并且能够（无论是通过训练还是本能）创造出真正的歌唱音调时，呼吸中就会发生一些不同的事情。有效地振动声带并维持这些振动，感觉就像横膈膜或腹部的压力增加；因此有了用横膈膜“支撑”呼吸的想法。

In the field of vocal study there is a great deal of controversy about support and how to achieve it, but all singers agree that in order to sing, the breath must be managed differently than during normal exhalation. If you breathe in and out casually and, without altering this normal breathing pattern, vocalize on one of the out-breaths, you’ll notice that the sound that comes out is throaty and lackluster, and it quickly trails off because there is little breath to sustain it. This sound (which isn’t even real singing) seems to have no energy; it lacks “support.” When we produce sound with more conviction and are able, either through training or instinct, to create a true sung tone, something different happens in the breathing to efficiently vibrate the vocal folds and to sustain these vibrations, which feels like an increased pressure in the diaphragm or abdomen; hence the idea of “supporting” the breath with the diaphragm.

但我们究竟是如何用呼吸“支撑”音调的呢？是通过增加呼吸压力来实现的吗？这种支撑实际上是来自横膈膜，还是来自其他地方？首先，横膈膜的位置甚至不像大多数歌手认为的那样——也就是腹部——即使它位于腹部，这块肌肉也无法支撑任何东西，因为正如我们所见，它是吸气肌肉，而唱歌不是发生在吸气时，而是发生在呼气时。有些人认为，由于横膈膜在呼气时会放松，所以是腹部控制着空气的流出，从而支撑着呼吸。但腹肌，也就是人们常说的呼气​​肌，只会比正常呼气时更快地将空气呼出，提供的支撑甚至比正常呼气时还要少。事实上，无论是横膈膜还是腹肌本身都无法“支撑”音调；尽管支撑似乎来自腹部，但横膈膜和腹肌的张力根本无法解释支撑是什么以及支撑是如何产生的。

But exactly how do we “support” the tone with our breath? Do we do it by creating increased breath pressure, and does this increased support in fact come from the diaphragm, or from somewhere else? To begin with, the diaphragm isn’t even where most singers believe it is—namely, in the abdomen—and even if it were, this muscle cannot support anything, since as we’ve seen, it is a muscle of inhalation, and singing occurs not on the inhalation but on the exhalation. Some people claim that, since the diaphragm relaxes during the exhalation, it is the abdomen that controls this outflow of air and therefore supports the breath. But the abdominal muscles, which are considered muscles of expiration, will only force the air out faster than during normal exhalation, giving you even less support than when you are normally breathing out. The fact is, neither the diaphragm nor the abdominal muscles alone can “support” the tone; in spite of the sense that the support comes from the abdominal region, tension in the diaphragm and abdominal muscles simply doesn’t explain what support is and how it is produced.

吸气倾向

The In-breathing Tendency

让我们观察一下我们说话或唱歌时究竟发生了什么。我们之前看到，吸气时，横膈膜收缩变平，肋骨抬高，为空气涌入肺部腾出空间（图5-1a）；呼气时，横膈膜和肋骨都会回弹到原来的位置，迫使空气排出肺部（图5-1b）。唱歌时，吸气与正常呼吸相同，但呼气的性质却发生了巨大变化。当我们开始发声时，横膈膜不会简单地向上放松到拱起的位置，而是保持其张力，这样空气就不会一下子涌出，而是缓慢地释放出来。肋骨也会发生同样的情况：它们不会回弹到原来的位置，而是保持打开和抬高，缓慢地释放，这样空气就不会一下子被全部挤出，而是缓慢地释放出来（图5-1c）。这种缓慢的空气释放——或控制呼气——当然，与声带的闭合相结合，这样从肺部出来的空气就会振动声带并产生声音。

Let’s observe what actually happens when we speak or sing. We’ve seen earlier that when we inhale, the diaphragm contracts and flattens out and the ribs are raised, making space for air to rush into the lungs (fig. 5-1a); when we exhale, both the diaphragm and the ribs rebound to their former position, which forces air out of the lungs (fig. 5-1b). When we sing, the inhalation is the same as in normal breathing, but the exhalation changes dramatically in character. As we begin to vocalize, the diaphragm does not simply release upward to its domed position but maintains its tension so that the air, instead of rushing out, is slowly released. The same happens with the ribs: instead of recoiling to their former position, they remain open and raised and let go slowly so that, instead of being forced out all at once, the air is released slowly (fig. 5-1c). This slow release of air—or controlled exhalation—is, of course, combined with the closure of the vocal folds, so that the air exiting the lungs vibrates the folds and sound is produced.

请注意，在发声过程中，为了保持肋骨扩张和横膈膜收缩，我们不会增加呼吸压力，而是会降低呼吸压力。在发声教学中，我们经常听到人们强调要产生强劲而持续的气流。支撑声带振动。事实上，情况恰恰相反。当我们正常呼气时，空气会一下子全部呼出，对声带产生巨大的压力，这不利于良好的歌唱，而且这种压力结束得太快，无法产生持续的音调。唱歌时，我们需要减少气流，减少冲击声带的空气，使气流持续足够长的时间，从而维持真正的歌唱音调。我们通过保持肋骨的扩张和横膈膜的收缩来控制呼气，正是在这样做。我们不是让空气一下子全部呼出，而是调节呼气，使气流实际上减少，并持续更长时间。这使得声带比我们单纯地在关闭声带的同时不受控制地呼气时更有效地振动，并且延长气流的时间，从而产生饱满而持续的声音。

Notice that, in maintaining the expansion of the ribs and the contraction of the diaphragm during vocalization, we don’t increase the breath pressure but actually decrease it. We often hear, in vocal pedagogy, of the need to produce a strong and sustained flow of air to support the vibration of the vocal folds. In fact, the opposite is true. When we breathe out normally, the air flows out all at once, creating a large burst of pressure against the vocal folds that isn’t conducive to good singing and which ends too quickly to produce a sustained tone. When we sing, we need to decrease this flow of air so that less air hits the vocal folds and so that the flow lasts long enough to sustain a true sung tone. That is precisely what we are doing when we control the exhalation by maintaining the expansion of the ribs and the contraction of the diaphragm. Instead of letting the air flow out all at once, we are regulating the exhalation so that the air flow is actually lessened, as well as sustained for a longer time. This allows the vocal folds to vibrate more efficiently than if we simply breathe out in an uncontrolled manner while closing the vocal folds, and it extends the flow of air long enough to produce a full and sustained sound.

那么，认为我们在唱歌时会产生一股受支撑的气柱，其压力比正常呼吸时更大，这是一种误解。当我们正常呼气时，气流太大，声带无法有效振动或维持歌唱的音调。当我们闭上声带，用力吹气时，也会发生同样的情况，这会产生一种压迫或紧张的音调。为了唱歌，呼出的空气需要有一定的压力，否则就没有气流，声带也根本不会振动。但这种流量需要比正常呼气时要小，这就是为什么我们需要通过控制呼气和保持肋骨和横膈膜的开放来减少呼吸流量。

The notion, then, that in singing we create a supported column of air that involves greater pressure than during normal breathing is a fiction. When we breathe out normally, the rush of air is so great that the vocal folds cannot vibrate in an efficient manner or sustain a sung tone. The same is true when we hold the vocal folds closed and force the breath against them, which creates a pressed or strained tone. In order to sing, there needs to be a certain degree of pressure from the exhaled air—otherwise there would be no air flow and the vocal folds would not vibrate at all. But this flow needs to be less than during normal exhalation, which is why we need to decrease breath flow by controlling the exhalation and maintaining the openness of the ribs and diaphragm.

自然控制呼气

The Natural Controlled Exhalation

但我们究竟是如何控制空气的释放的呢？也就是说，如何防止横膈膜上升，肋骨下降？一些声乐老师意识到发声时容易漏气，因此要求学生在唱歌时想象吸气，或者保持肋骨张开。1其他老师则认为，为了正确地支撑音调，歌手必须主动使用或收紧腹部肌肉。2然而，尽管腹部肌肉在发声中确实发挥了作用，但这些特定的控制形式是基于对发声实际运作方式的误解。我们已经看到，喉部在各种活动中都会自然地与呼吸协调，例如分娩、深呼吸和屏住呼吸。发声也是如此。当我们有发出声音的意图时，吸气的倾向会作为控制呼气的反射形式而保持。这使我们能够不是一次性呼出所有空气，而是调节气流，这与声带的闭合相协调，从而产生持续的音调。当你有发出声音的意图时，所有这些都会自动发生，因为喉部和呼吸的设计就是为了实现这一目的而协同工作的，就像它们被设计为为了吞咽或屏住呼吸而自动协调一样。

But how exactly do we produce this controlled release of air—that is, how do we keep the diaphragm from ascending and the ribs from descending? Recognizing that too much air tends to escape during vocalization, some singing teachers ask their students to think of inhaling while singing, or to hold the ribs open.1 Other teachers argue that, to properly support the tone, the singer must actively employ or tighten the abdominal muscles.2 But although the abdominal muscles do play a role in vocalization, these forms of specific control are based on a misunderstanding of how vocalization actually works. We’ve seen that the larynx naturally coordinates with breathing in various activities such as childbirth, taking a deep breath, and holding our breath. The same is true with producing tone. When we have the intention of making a sound, the in-breathing tendency is maintained as a reflex form of controlling the exhalation. This enables us not to exhale the air all at once but to regulate the flow of air, which is coordinated with the closure of the vocal folds to produce a sustained tone. And all this happens automatically when you have the intention of making a sound because the larynx and breathing are designed to work together for that purpose, just as they are designed to coordinate automatically for the purpose of swallowing or holding our breath.

由于唱歌看似一项人为的技能，许多声乐老师不接受诸如支撑音调或打开喉咙等基本技能可以毫不费力地掌握的观点。他们认为，正常的呼吸完全是自动的、反射性的；相比之下，唱歌是不自然的，必须学习。3但爬行动物、鸟类和哺乳动物已经发出声音数千年了；与所有其他自动功能不同，认为发声需要刻意操纵和控制是荒谬的。我们在说话时不必考虑控制气流；为什么我们在唱歌时要这样做？然而，这些技巧恰恰假设了这一点。声乐老师不知道在发声过程中存在一种反射来控制气流，因此提倡在发声时保持肋骨张开或屏住呼吸等技巧，而事实上，我们天生就是自然发声的，就像我们天生呼吸和吞咽食物一样。

Because singing seems to be such an artificial skill, many singing teachers do not accept the notion that basic skills such as supporting the tone or opening the throat can take place effortlessly. Normal breathing, they argue, is completely automatic and reflexive; singing, in contrast, is unnatural and must be learned.3 But reptiles, birds, and mammals have been vocalizing for millennia; it would be absurd to suppose that, in contrast to all the other automatic functions, producing sound should require deliberate manipulation and control. We don’t have to think about controlling air flow during speaking; why should we have to do so during singing? Yet this is exactly what such techniques are assuming. Not knowing that there is a reflex that manages that outflow of air during phonation, vocal teachers therefore advocate such techniques as holding the ribs open or holding one’s breath during vocalizing when in fact we are designed to vocalize naturally, just as we are designed to breathe and to swallow food.

因此，那些鼓励操纵肋骨、呼吸或横膈膜的呼吸技巧，其实是基于对发声机制的深刻误解。当我们发声时，呼吸器官被设计成以特定的方式运作，使其能够与喉部完美协调，从而发出声音。就像我们不假思索地吸气呼气，或者在做剧烈运动或刻意屏住呼吸时协调喉部与呼吸一样，当我们有发出声音的意图时，呼气也会自动控制。这项功能是发声支持的核心，只要我们不加以干扰，它就会在我们有发出声音或交流的意图时自动运行。

Breathing techniques that encourage manipulation of the ribs, breathing, or diaphragm, then, are based on a profound misunderstanding of what is involved in vocalization. When we vocalize, the breathing apparatus is designed to function in a particular way that enables it to coordinate perfectly with the larynx to produce sound. In the same way that we breathe in and out without thinking about it, or coordinate the larynx with the breathing when we perform strenuous work or deliberately hold our breath, the exhalation is automatically controlled when we have the intention of making sound. This function is at the heart of vocal support and, so long as we don’t interfere with it, is designed to operate automatically whenever we have the intention of producing sound or communicating.

长度和宽度

Length and Width

然而，这种自动功能常常受到一种倾向的干扰，这种倾向几乎普遍存在：在准备说话时吸气，然后在呼气时通过拉下和收紧肋骨而产生过大的张力。这会增加对声带的呼吸压力，声带必须收紧以抵抗压力。这反过来又会干扰喉咙的悬韧带肌肉，使其无法正确支撑喉头。然而，当躯干得到适当支撑并且背部肌肉有弹性地支撑胸腔时，肋骨可以在呼气时保持开放，喉头由悬韧带肌肉支撑，并且呼吸和喉头的振动在发声过程中完美同步（图 5-2）。

This automatic function, however, is often interfered with by the tendency, which is nearly universal, of taking breath in preparation to speak and then creating too much tension during the exhalation by pulling down and tightening the ribs while speaking. This increases the breath pressure against the vocal folds, which must then tighten to resist the pressure. This, in turn, interferes with the suspensory musculature of the throat, which cannot properly support the larynx. When the trunk is properly supported and the back muscles are elastically supporting the rib cage, however, the ribs can maintain their openness during the exhalation, the larynx is supported by the suspensory muscles, and the breathing and the vibratory action of the larynx are perfectly synchronized during the act of vocalizing (fig. 5-2).

因此，控制呼气和自然支撑音调的关键在于整个直立系统的扩张性支撑。肋骨和横膈膜在呼吸时的活动，是发声时自动发挥作用的特定组成部分。但由于呼吸器官是我们直立支撑系统的一部分，因此只有当整个支撑系统扩张性地支撑躯干和胸腔时，这些特定功能才能发挥最佳作用。躯干的伸长和扩张是呼气时维持胸腔支撑的关键要素，这可以使悬吊肌和呼吸肌作为一个整体协调一致。

The key to a controlled exhalation and naturally supported tone, then, is the expansive support of the entire upright system. The action of the ribs and diaphragm during breathing are the specific components that come automatically into play during vocalization. But because the breathing apparatus is part of our upright support system, these specific functions can operate to best advantage only when the entire support system is expansively supporting the trunk and rib cage. Lengthening and widening of the trunk are the key elements required to maintain support of the rib cage during the exhalation, and this keeps the suspensory and breathing components coordinated as a whole.

支持的虚构与现实

The Fiction and Reality of Support

虽然在适当的条件下，支撑会相当自然且毫不费力地发生，但正是因为我们干扰了躯干的这种扩张性支撑，我们才必须通过收紧腹部、抬高肋骨或支撑横膈膜来补偿这种弹性支撑，而这正是支撑呼吸这一概念的最初来源。许多歌手坚持认为这种张力是支撑呼吸的关键，但这通常基于肤浅的观察，而非对发声机制的真正理解。4但事实上，他们是在弥补那些迫使他们诉诸于这些有害条件的因素。这种特定的控制。如果整个支持系统运作良好，则无需任何特殊的努力或控制来支持声音；由于整个肌肉系统的协调作用，支持将自动发生。从这个意义上讲，支持根本不关乎呼吸，而是关乎身体协调。事实上，当发声有效时，不会有需要吸气、需要支持呼吸或需要用呼吸来振动声带的感觉，声带似乎是自动发出声音的；躯干和肋骨的全面扩张和拮抗作用与喉头的闭合相协调，从而产生完全毫不费力、充满力量的声音。整个系统的这种高效运作构成了真正的发声支持，当肌肉系统得到适当协调时，它会作为一种完全自然的反射活动发生。

Although support takes place quite naturally and effortlessly under the right conditions, it is because we interfere with this expansive support of the trunk that we must compensate for this elastic support by tightening the abdomen, elevating the ribs, or supporting the diaphragm, which is where the idea of supporting the breath comes from in the first place. Many singers insist that such tension is the key to breath support, often based on superficial observation rather than a real understanding of how vocalization takes place.4 But they are in fact compensating for the harmful conditions that force them to resort to this kind of specific control. If the overall support system is working well, no specific effort or control is required to support the voice; support will occur automatically as a result of the coordinated action of the entire muscular system. In this sense, support isn’t about breathing at all but about bodily coordination. In fact, when vocalization takes place efficiently, there is no sensation of having to take breath in, of having to support the breath, or of having to use the breath to vibrate the vocal folds, which seem to produce sound of their own accord; the total expansive and antagonistic action of trunk and ribs is coordinated with closure of the larynx to produce a completely effortless, powerful sound. And this efficient action of the entire system, which constitutes true vocal support, occurs as a totally natural reflex activity when the muscular system is properly coordinated.

然而，这样的过程并非没有力量。即使真正的支撑不是来自于用力控制气流，而是来自于自然地控制呼气，当系统协调良好时，人们仍然能够明显感觉到躯干的运动力量和能量。许多歌唱方法都谈到有力而有力地支撑声音。然而，正确理解支撑不应来自肌肉的力量，而应来自背部和躯干肌肉的拮抗作用，这些肌肉在发声过程中相互配合，形成一个强大而有弹性的整体。用腹部支撑呼吸是一种谬论；真正的动力或支撑不是来自增加的张力或呼吸压力，而是来自肌肉系统在控制呼气时对呼吸器官和喉头进行扩张支撑的拮抗作用。

Such a process, however, is not without strength. Even if true support comes not from using effort to control the air flow but by naturally controlling the exhalation, there is a palpable sense, when the system is well coordinated, of athletic power and energy in the trunk. Many singing approaches speak about forcefully and energetically supporting the voice. Properly understood, however, support should be derived not from muscular effort but from the antagonistic action of the muscles of the back and trunk, which engage during the vocal act into a powerful, elastic whole. Supporting the breath from the abdomen is a fallacy; true motive power or support comes not from increased tension or breath pressure but from the antagonistic action of the muscular system in expansively supporting the breathing apparatus and larynx in a controlled exhalation.

呼吸和喉部

Breathing and the Larynx

关于支撑的另一个误解源于这样一种观点：良好的发声位置可以取代对呼吸机制的关注。众所周知，在声乐教学中，位置合适的声音才能得到良好的支撑。这是因为，当发声位置合适时，呼吸流量往往会降至最低，从而产生有效的声带振动。这种呼吸压力和振动器的理想协调，即所谓的“连接”，是在以下情况下实现的：最小的呼吸压力和声带的有效闭合。与用力推或用力压出的声音（用力呼气，喉部收缩以抵抗呼吸的力量）相反，这种被称为“流发声”的发声方式，代表了一种更加优美动听的声音。

Another misconception about support derives from the idea that placing the voice well can substitute for attention to the breathing mechanism. It is well known in vocal pedagogy that a well-placed voice is a well-supported voice. This is because, when the voice is well placed, breath flow tends to be reduced to a minimum, creating efficient vibration of the vocal folds. This ideal coordination of breath pressure and vibrator, called “hookup,” is achieved when there is a minimum of breath pressure and efficient closure of the vocal folds. As opposed to a pushed or pressed sound, in which the breath is forced out and the larynx is constricted against the force of the breath, this type of vocal production, called “flow phonation,” represents a much more beautiful and pleasing form of sound production.

但单靠发声位置来提供足够的发声支持可能值得商榷。许多歌手为了寻找呼吸和喉咙之间梦寐以求的“连接”，学会了屏住呼吸来控制呼气，然后全身心地关注发声位置。我们可以观察到许多专业歌手在准备演唱一个乐句时会用力吸气，这有助于他们打开喉咙；当他们唱出乐句时，他们能够保持喉咙畅通，但胸部和肋骨会缩短和收缩，因此他们必须再次挺起胸膛为下一个乐句做准备。这种支持方式的问题在于，歌手唱歌时实际上是在吸气并屏住呼吸，这会使肋骨膨胀，损害呼吸机制。而且由于肋骨的挤压会阻碍肋骨的真正放松和自由，因此在演唱过程中不可能实现真正的流畅，歌手的情感表达范围也会受到限制——这种现象在非常有成就的歌剧歌手身上很常见，他们能创造出美妙的声音，并且往往事业有成，但缺乏一定的激情和情感表达的范围。

But vocal placement alone can be a questionable way of creating adequate vocal support. Many singers, searching for the much sought after “hookup” between the breathing and the throat, learn to control the outflow by holding the breath and then focusing entirely on placement. One can observe this in many professional singers who prepare to sing a phrase by forcibly taking in air, which helps them to open the throat; while they sing the phrase they are able to keep the throat free but shorten and constrict the chest and ribs so that they then have to pump up the chest again to prepare for the next phrase. The problem with this type of support is that the singer is essentially taking and holding the breath to sing, which distends the ribs and compromises the breathing mechanism. And because the holding of the ribs prevents real letting go and freedom in the ribs, there is no possibility of true flow in the production, and the singer is hampered in her range of emotional expression—a phenomenon which can be observed in very accomplished operatic singers who create a beautiful sound and often have very successful careers but lack a certain excitement and range of emotive expression.

相反，真正的支撑是一种自然协调的状态，其中喉咙和胸腔作为统一协调的整体的一部分发挥作用。在这种情况下，呼吸不会“支撑”喉咙，而喉咙也不会因为屏住呼吸而与呼吸分离；两者协同工作，协调一致，没有任何元素占主导地位或独立存在——我称之为真正的流发声。从这个意义上讲，支撑根本不是关于呼吸，而是关于整个身体的协调；事实上，当正常工作时，没有呼吸支撑的感觉，也几乎没有人意识到自己在呼吸；肋骨、背部和躯干的完全扩张和拮抗作用支撑着呼吸和喉咙，从而产生完全毫不费力的、有力的声音。

In contrast, true support is a naturally coordinated condition in which the throat and the rib cage function as part of a unified and coordinated whole. In this situation, the breathing doesn’t “support” the larynx, and the larynx in turn isn’t segregated from the breathing because the breath is held; the two work together, coordinating in a total act in which neither element is dominant or separate—what I would call true flow phonation. In this sense, support isn’t about breathing at all but about total bodily coordination; in fact, when working properly, there is no sensation of breath support and little awareness that one is breathing at all; the total expansive and antagonistic action of ribs, back, and trunk supports both the breathing and the throat to produce a completely effortless, powerful sound.

整个系统的协调作用构成了真正的发声支持，当整个系统协调良好时，它就会作为一种完全自然的反射活动发生。由于发声系统的所有部分都是相互关联的，关注系统的一个部分会间接影响另一个系统。但由于每个系统都只是作为一个统一整体的一部分运作，因此，如果不关注两个系统，尤其是它们所依赖的直立支撑系统，就无法正确地协调或训练发声。

This coordinated action of the entire system, which constitutes true vocal support, occurs as a totally natural reflex activity when the entire system is properly coordinated. Because all the parts of the vocal system are related, attention to one part of the system will indirectly affect another system. But since each of these systems only works as part of a unified whole, the voice cannot be properly coordinated or trained without attention to both systems together, and in particular on the upright support system on which they both depend.

腹部支撑的作用

The Role of Abdominal Support

现在让我们来看看腹肌及其在发声支持中的作用。我们都熟悉横膈膜或腹部支撑呼吸的概念；事实上，这个想法非常基础，我们中很少有人没有听说过。但这个想法从何而来？如果它不正确，为什么它会变得如此流行？如果你深吸一口气，这当然会收缩横膈膜，你会注意到这会将腹腔内容物向下推，并迫使腹部膨胀。相反，如果你收缩腹肌，这会将腹腔内容物向上推，并帮助提升横膈膜。从某种意义上说，腹肌和横膈膜可以说是一对拮抗肌：横膈膜的运动使空气进入；收缩腹肌有助于提升横膈膜并帮助排出空气。

Let’s look now at the abdominal muscles and the role they play in vocal support. We are all familiar with the concept that we support the breath from the diaphragm or abdomen; this idea, in fact, is so basic that few of us have not heard of it. But where does this idea come from, and if it is inaccurate, why has it become so popular? If you take a deep breath, which of course contracts the diaphragm, you’ll notice that this pushes the abdominal contents downward and forces the belly to distend. Conversely, if you contract the abdominal muscles, this pushes the abdominal contents upward and helps to raise the diaphragm. In a sense, then, the abdominal muscles and diaphragm may be said to form a paired group of antagonists: the action of the diaphragm makes air come in; contracting the abdominal muscles assists in raising the diaphragm and assists in expelling air.

正是这一观察在很大程度上构成了普遍观点的基础，即腹肌控制横膈膜，从而“支撑”呼吸。许多老师认为，当我们吸气时，应该放松腹部，以便横膈膜充分下降。为了发出声音，则必须发生相反的情况：我们必须在腹部保持一定程度的张力，以控制和支撑歌唱所需的气流。因此，许多人认为该区域的张力是支持发声的主要因素。5

It is this observation, in large part, that has formed the basis for the commonly held view that the abdominal muscles control the diaphragm and therefore “support” the breath. When we breathe in, many teachers argue, we should relax the abdomen in order to allow the full descent of the diaphragm. To produce sound, the opposite must happen: we must have a certain degree of tension in the abdomen to control and support the outflow of air required for singing. Tension in this region is thus viewed by many as the main agent responsible for vocal support.5

然而，正如我们所见，发声需要减少气流，而不是增加气流，而这只能通过吸气肌参与，而不是腹肌，腹肌只能帮助更快地将空气呼出。那么，腹肌究竟是如何辅助发声的呢？我们已经看到，在发声过程中，肋间肌和横膈膜保持张力，并缓慢回缩至静息状态，以延长呼气时间。横膈膜的运动还会阻碍肋骨的下降，通过保持肋骨的扩张来抵消呼气的趋势，从而帮助“支撑”呼吸。腹肌在发声过程中的作用是协助横膈膜和肋骨的这种运动，它们通过多种方式实现这一点。首先，当腹部放松时，横膈膜会趋于扁平。这会阻碍其活动，因为它需要呈穹顶状才能正常收缩。通过提供一个坚实的基础使其能够收缩，腹部可以“调节”横膈膜，这有助于歌唱中的情感特质和细腻的表达。其次，当腹部放松时，肋骨无法有效收缩；腹肌的张力有助于为肋骨收缩提供稳定的基础。第三，如果我们呼气时腹部下垂，就会对胸腔施加一股塌陷的力量，从而使胸腔失去在控制呼气时保持开放所需的支撑。腹肌的张力有助于维持对胸腔的支撑，并抵抗横膈膜的收缩，从而为控制呼气提供一些所需的拮抗支撑（图5-3）。

As we’ve seen, however, vocal production requires that the air flow be reduced, not increased, and this can be performed only by inspiratory muscles, not by the abdominal muscles, which can only help to push the air out faster. What then do the abdominal muscles actually do to assist in the production of sound? We’ve seen that during vocalization, the intercostal muscles and the diaphragm maintain tone and recoil slowly to their resting state in order to prolong the outflow of air. The action of the diaphragm also opposes the descent of the ribs, counteracting the out-breathing tendency by maintaining the expansion of the ribs to help “support” the breath. The function of the abdominal muscles during vocalization is to assist this action of the diaphragm and ribs, which they do in several ways. First, when the abdomen is relaxed, the diaphragm tends to flatten out. This hampers its action, since it needs to be dome-shaped in order to contract properly. By providing a firm base against which it can contract, the abdomen “tunes” the diaphragm, which contributes to the emotional qualities and finely nuanced phrasing in singing. Second, when the abdomen is relaxed, the ribs cannot contract effectively; tone in the abdominal muscles helps to provide a stable base against which the ribs can contract. Third, if the abdomen sags when we breathe out, this exerts a collapsing force on the rib cage, which thus loses the support required to maintain openness during the controlled exhalation. Tone in the abdominal muscles helps to maintain support of the rib cage and opposes the contraction of the diaphragm, providing some of the antagonistic support required for the controlled exhalation (fig. 5-3).

因此，腹肌确实会作用于胸腔和横膈膜，与肋骨和横膈膜的运动协同作用，维持腹腔的张力。但这些运动是躯干整体支撑的一部分，也是控制呼气的肌肉的拮抗作用。由于腹部活动是肌肉运动中最明显的部分，它参与了发声，因此歌手往往会把这个区域作为发声的关键。腹肌只是发声支持的核心，而实际上，腹肌的运动只是整体肌肉活动的一部分；由于腹肌是自动运作的，因此当整个系统运转良好时，可以信赖它们能够自我调节。因此，直接控制腹肌或试图通过锻炼来增强它们既没有必要也不明智，因为它们天生就具备在整个系统内自动运作的能力。

The abdominal muscles, then, do act upon the rib cage and diaphragm, maintaining tension of the abdominal cavity in sympathy with the action of the ribs and diaphragm. But these actions are part of the overall support of the trunk and the antagonistic action of muscles involved in controlling the exhalation. Because abdominal activity is the most obvious aspect of muscular action that comes into play to produce sound, singers tend to latch onto this region as the focal point of vocal support, when really the action of the abdominal muscles is only part of a much more global muscular activity; and because they come into play automatically, these muscles can be trusted to regulate themselves when the overall system is working well. For this reason, it is neither necessary nor advisable to directly control the abdominal muscles or to attempt to strengthen them through exercise, since they are already designed to function automatically in the context of this overall system.

控制呼气

The Controlled Exhalation

现在许多歌唱专家都认为，用呼吸来支撑声音的想法是一种虚构。他们认为，声音无法用呼吸来支撑，因为即使有可能，横膈膜或其他地方也没有任何东西可以支撑音调。因此，一些声乐教师淡化了学习支撑声音的必要性，甚至完全不教这方面的内容。6但是在歌唱过程中，呼吸器官中确实会发生一些非常明确的事情，而论证旧的支撑概念背后的谬误并不能解释这些事情是什么以及如何实现它。真正的支撑是吸气倾向与呼气力量对抗的结合，以受控呼气的形式反射性地运作，并在躯干和肋骨的整体支撑网络的背景下进行。

Many experts on singing now agree that the notion of supporting the voice with the breath is a kind of fiction. Sound, they argue, cannot be supported with the breath because there is nothing in the diaphragm or elsewhere that can support the tone even if this were possible. As a result, some voice teachers downplay the need for learning to support the voice and omit teaching it altogether.6 But something very definite happens in the breathing apparatus during singing, and demonstrating the fallacy behind the old concept of support doesn’t explain what this something is and how to achieve it. Real support is a combination of the in-breathing tendency maintained antagonistically against exhalatory forces, operating reflexively in the form of a controlled exhalation and taking place in the context of the overall support network of the trunk and ribs.

在此过程中，必须理解的一个关键实践要素是控制呼气的目的。正如我们将在最后几章中看到的那样，控制呼气可以扭转屏住呼吸的倾向，增强肋骨和横膈膜的柔韧性，并改善呼吸；因此，它有益于整体健康和功能。但作为喉部与呼吸流动之间预先存在的协调，它还有一个更重要的目的：它为学习如何轻松协调地发声奠定了基础。因此，重要的不仅仅是能够进行控制呼气，还要确切理解它的目的。就像我们在尖叫或屏住呼吸时，横膈膜、肋骨和喉部之间建立了一种特殊的联系一样，通过发声，控制呼气代表了喉部和呼吸之间的特殊联系，形成了支持发声的真正基础。

A key practical element that must be understood in this process is what the controlled exhalation is for. As we will see in the final chapters, controlling the exhalation reverses the tendency to hold the breath, increases the flexibility of the ribs and diaphragm, and improves respiration; for these reasons, it is beneficial to overall health and functioning. But as a preexisting coordination of the larynx with breath flow it serves an even more important purpose: it provides the basis for learning to produce an effortless and coordinated support for vocalization. It is important, then, not simply to be able to perform a controlled exhalation but to understand exactly what it is for. Just as in screaming or holding our breath we get a particular kind of connection between diaphragm, ribs, and larynx, so with vocalizing, the controlled exhalation represents a special connection between larynx and breathing that forms the true basis of supported vocalization.

总而言之，支撑是由吸气与呼气力量对抗的结果。当我们想要发出声音或进行交流时，这些对抗力量会自动相互平衡。当我们发声时，身体会收缩和塌陷；因此，必须确保整个肌肉系统得到适当的协调，以便胸腔得到适当的支撑；这种全面的支撑使我们能够轻松、持续、可控地呼气，这是自然发声支撑的基础。

To summarize, support takes place as the result of in-breathing tendencies that counter the exhalatory forces. These antagonistic forces balance each other automatically when we have the intention of producing sound or communicating. When we vocalize, the tendency is to shorten and collapse; it is necessary, therefore, to ensure that the entire muscular system is properly coordinated so that the rib cage is properly supported; this total support makes it possible to produce an effortless, sustained controlled exhalation that is the basis for natural vocal support.

胸声和假声区

Chest and Falsetto Registers

如果你唱一系列音调，从低音开始慢慢上升到高音，你会注意到，在某个时刻，喉部肌肉似乎会转变为一种新的用力方式，音符会呈现出更像笛子和气息的音质。几个世纪以来，歌手们已经将这两种不同的发声方式——更低沉、更饱满的“胸声”和更纤细、像笛子一样的“假声”——视为两个主要的声区。女性通常用低音区说话，但通常觉得用高音区唱歌更舒服，因为高音区占据了她音域的很大一部分；男性用胸声区说话和唱歌，通常觉得用假声区唱歌——这只占他整个音域的一小部分——有些女性化和尴尬。

If you sing a series of tones, starting with a low note and slowly ascending to a higher one, you’ll notice that, at a certain point, the muscles in the larynx seem to shift into a new quality of effort, and the notes assume a more flutelike and breathy quality. For centuries, singers have identified these two different types of vocal production—the lower, fuller-sounding “chest” voice, and the thinner, flutelike tones of the “falsetto” production—as the two main vocal registers. A woman often speaks in the lower register but typically feels more comfortable singing in the higher register, which occupies a greater part of her range; a man both speaks and sings in the chest register and typically finds singing in the falsetto range—which occupies a smaller portion of his overall range—to be somewhat feminine and embarrassing.

“音域”一词借用自管风琴术语，指管风琴上产生不同声音组合或音区的不同的音栓。由于低音区听起来更多来自胸部，因此被称为胸音区；高音区被称为假音区或头音区，因为它听起来像是从头部共鸣或发出的，而且在男性中，它高于自然发音范围，因此听起来像是“假”音。这些术语实际上具有误导性，因为声区是由喉部产生的，而不是身体特定部位共鸣的结果。但按照惯例，声区仍然根据歌手的主观感觉来识别。

The word register is borrowed from organ terminology and refers to different stops on the organ that produce different sets of sounds, or registers. Because the lower register seems to come more from the chest, it was called the chest register; the higher one was termed the false or head register because it seemed to resonate or come from the head, and because in men it is above the natural speaking range and thus seemed to have a “false” sound. These terms are in fact misleading, since vocal registers are produced in the larynx and are not the result of resonance in particular regions of the body. But vocal registers continue to be identified according to the singer’s subjective sensations as a matter of convention.

虽然胸声和假声是两个主要音域，但一些歌唱流派也承认一个中间音域，它是胸声和假声的某种结合，构成了三个关键音域。在音域的两端，还有两个鲜为人知的音域——一个非常高的女声音域，被称为“哨音”，也被称为“声音嘶哑”或“咆哮”音域（也称为strohbass），是由极其松弛的声带产生的。但这些音域很少使用，而胸声和假声音域——以及它们之间的中间音域——的发展在发声训练中占有重要地位。

Although the two main registers are chest and falsetto, some schools of singing recognize a middle register that is a sort of combination of the chest and falsetto voice, making three key registers. There are also two lesser-known registers at the extreme ends of the vocal range—a very high female register, called the “whistle” called “vocal fry” or “growl” register (also known as strohbass), which is produced by extremely lax vocal cords. But these are rarely used, whereas the development of the chest and falsetto registers—and the middle register between them—figure prominently in vocal training.

两种振动模式

The Two Modes of Vibration

所有歌手都知道，关于音区是否真实存在、有多少个音区以及它们是否对应喉部的不同用途或功能，存在诸多争议。但毫无疑问，胸腔共鸣和假声的声带振动有两种截然不同的模式。1841年，著名声乐教师曼努埃尔·加西亚发明了喉镜——一种带灯的镜子，可以窥视喉咙内部，观察声带的活动。他能够看到并清晰地描述了胸腔共鸣和假声中两种截然不同的声带振动模式：

As all singers know, there is a lot of controversy about whether registers really exist, how many there are, and whether they correspond to different uses or functions of the larynx. But there is no doubt that there are two distinct patterns of vocal fold vibration that correspond to chest voice and falsetto. In 1841, Manuel García, a famous voice teacher, invented the laryngoscope—a lighted mirror that made it possible to peer down the throat and to view the vocal cords in action. He could see and clearly described two distinctly different modes of vibration of the vocal folds in chest voice and falsetto:

我们所说的音域是指一系列从低到高的连续且同质的音调，由同一机械原理的演化，其性质与由另一机械原理产生的一系列同样连续且同质的音调有着本质区别。因此，所有属于同一音域的音调都具有相同的性质，无论音色或力度如何变化。1

By the word register we mean a series of consecutive and homogeneous tones going from low to high, produced by the development of the same mechanical principle, and whose nature differs essentially from another series of tones equally consecutive and homogeneous produced by another mechanical principle. All the tones belonging to the same register are consequently of the same nature, whatever may be the modifications of timbre or of force to which one subjects them.1

1939 年，贝尔电话实验室的科学家们开发了一种慢动作拍摄声带振动的技术，从而扩展并证实了这些观察结果，他们利用该技术可以准确地看到声带在不同音域唱歌时是如何振动的。2在低音区，声带振动时充分而深沉地接触，粘膜组织松弛地滑动（图 6-1）。在高音区，声带被拉长并绷紧，肌肉后退，只剩下边缘——真正的声带或声带——以更高的频率振动，整体运动较少（图 6-2）。男性和女性都具有这些基本的振动模式，因此，尽管人们常说女性没有假声，但两性都有类似的机制。

In 1939, scientists at Bell Telephone Laboratories expanded and confirmed these observations when they developed a technique for filming the vibration of the vocal folds in slow motion, making it possible to see exactly how the vocal folds vibrated when singing in different registers.2 In the lower register, the vocal folds vibrated with a full and deep contact, the mucous tissues slithering about with remarkable laxness (fig. 6-1). In the higher register, the vocal folds become elongated and stretched tight so that the muscles retreat, leaving only the edges—the actual vocal bands or cords—vibrating at a higher frequency and with less overall movement (fig. 6-2). Both men and women have these basic vibratory patterns, so that, although women are often said to lack a falsetto, both sexes share a similar mechanism.

寄存器的工作原理

How Registers Work

但是这两个音区的功能是什么？它们究竟是如何工作的？我们在第3章中看到，喉部的功能之一是伸展声带，从而使音调升高——这一动作主要由环甲肌或伸展器完成（见图3-5和3-6）。但是，绷紧这块肌肉只能将音调升高到一定程度。为了使音调继续升高，声带必须变得更加绷紧和纤薄，以便它们能够振动得更快。为了实现这一点，声带会被悬韧带肌肉伸展，而声带肌（即声带本身）会放松。这使得声带肌失去作用，使声带主体后退，只有内缘会因气流而振动；然后振动会以更高的张力和频率发生（图6-2）。这会提高音调，产生一种更薄、更像笛子、音色更不丰富的音调——假声。因此，假声与胸腔发声相比，其组织振动的排列方式截然不同，声带的活动也相应不同，喉头内外肌的肌肉支撑也不同。

But what is the function of the two registers, and how exactly do they work? We saw in Chapter 3 that one of the functions of the larynx is to stretch the vocal folds so that the pitch can be raised—an action that is performed mainly by the cricothyroid muscles, or stretchers (see figs. 3-5 and 3-6). But tensing this muscle can raise the pitch only so high. In order for the pitch to continue to get higher, the folds must become even more taut and thin so that they can vibrate faster. In order for this to happen, the vocal folds are stretched by the suspensory muscles, and the vocalis muscles—that is, the vocal folds themselves—relax. This takes the vocalis muscles out of gear so that the body of the vocal fold retreats and only the inner margins are vibrated by the flow of air; the vibrations then occur at a higher tension and frequency (fig. 6-2). This raises the pitch, producing a thinner, more flutelike tone with less richness of timbre—the falsetto voice. Falsetto, then, involves an essentially different arrangement of tissue vibration than chest voice, with a correspondingly different action of vocal cords and a different set of muscular supports in the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the larynx.

这种机制可以比作弦乐器。一根弦可以通过拉紧或在更高的音品上弹奏来产生更高的音调，但当这根弦无法再拉紧时，就必须换一根更细的弦，这样弦的振动速度会更快，从而能够产生更高音域的音调。这本质上就是我们的声音的作用。胸腔发声时，较厚的声带会产生较低的音调，可以通过增加施加在声带上的张力来提高音调，但只能达到一定程度。除此之外，产生更高音调的唯一方法是将声带调整到新的排列方式，使声带振动的表面积小得多，就像换一根更细的弦一样。

This mechanism can be likened to a stringed instrument. A single string can produce a higher pitch by being tightened or played at a higher fret, but when that string can’t be stretched any further, you must shift to a thinner string, which will vibrate faster and thus be able to produce a higher range of pitches. This, in essence, is what our voices do. In chest voice, the thicker condition of the vocal folds produces lower tones, which can be raised in pitch by increasing the tension placed on them—but only up to a point. Beyond that, the only way to produce higher tones is to bring the vocal folds into a new arrangement in which a much smaller surface of the vocal folds vibrates, like shifting to a thinner string.

然而，与弦乐器不同的是，人声产生这些不同的厚度是通过运用不同的肌肉系统来实现的，而不是通过实际更换“琴弦”。胸声中，音高是由环甲肌的活动升高的，环甲肌通过移动喉头软骨来伸展声带；喉头的悬吊肌——作用于喉头外部的肌肉——基本上处于不活动状态。假声中情况正好相反。因为环甲肌已经工作到极限，声带的进一步伸展必须由悬吊肌来完成，这就是为什么歌手在唱高音时，与在低音区唱歌相比，需要消耗更多的能量和主动肌肉力量。

In contrast to a stringed instrument, however, the human voice produces these different thicknesses by employing different muscle systems, not by actually changing “strings.” In chest voice, the pitch is raised by the action of the cricothyroid muscles, which stretch the vocal folds by moving the cartilages of the larynx; the suspensory muscles of the larynx—the extrinsic muscles that act externally on the larynx—are largely inactive. In falsetto, the situation is reversed. Because the cricothyroid muscle has already worked to its limit, further stretching of the vocal folds must be performed by the suspensory muscles, which is why singers producing notes high in their range can be seen to be using greater energy and active muscular effort than when they are singing in a comfortably low part of their range.

这些不同的结构也解释了胸声和假声在音色上的差异。胸声发声时，声带肌肉紧张，使其更厚实，并带动更多组织运动（插图，图6-1）。由于声带完全接触，从而产生音色丰富的复杂声波，因此声音饱满饱满。假声发声时，声带的振动部分更薄，振动速度更快，不仅导致音调更高，而且声波也更简单，音色的丰富度也更低（插图，图6-2）。3

These different arrangements also account for the differences in timbre between chest and falsetto. In chest voice, the vocalis muscle is tensed, which makes it thicker and brings more tissue into motion (inset, fig. 6-1). This produces a rich, full sound because the vocal folds are fully in contact and generate complex sound waves with a rich timbre. In falsetto, the vibrating portion of the vocal folds is thinner and oscillates more quickly, resulting not only in a higher-pitched tone but simpler sound waves that produce less richness of timbre (inset, fig. 6-2).3

滥用模式

Patterns of Misuse

这两种振动模式——有时被称为“重”音区与“轻”音区，因为假声的组织振动比胸腔振动轻——是发声训练和技巧的重要组成部分。显然，歌手必须能够运用自己的全部音域——也就是说，能够自如地唱出高音和低音区。许多流行歌手对音区没有清晰的概念，只是忽略了它们，试图用胸声唱高音。许多未经训练的歌手本能地养成通过向后仰头、收紧喉咙和抬高喉头来唱高音的习惯，这进一步加剧了这种有害的倾向，这显然是对发声器官的滥用。许多老师试图通过旨在重新训练歌手嗓音的发声练习来解决这个问题，但这种练习由于两个原因而失败。首先，特定的发声习惯是更大范围的错误使用模式的一部分，必须先改变这种模式，才能唱出更自然的歌声，尤其是在高音区。其次，要达到高音区的歌唱能力，需要观念上的转变，而在这种情况下，学生几乎不可能做到，因为错误的观念建立在不自然的用力模式之上，只有改掉这些有害的习惯，才能改变。

These two patterns of vibration—sometimes called “heavy” versus “light” register because of the lighter tissue vibration of the falsetto in comparison to the chest—form a crucial part of vocal training and technique. Obviously, a singer must be able to use his or her full range—that is, to sing comfortably in both the upper and lower registers. Many popular singers, not having a clear concept of registers, simply ignore them by trying to sing high notes in chest voice. This harmful tendency is further aggravated by the habit, which is rather instinctive in many untrained singers, of reaching for high notes by pulling back the head, tightening the throat, and raising the larynx, which constitutes a blatant misuse of the vocal instrument. Many teachers try to address this problem with vocal exercises aimed at retraining the singer’s voice, but such exercises fail for two reasons. First, the specific vocal habit is part of the larger pattern of misuse, which must be altered before it will be possible to produce a more natural sung tone, particularly in the higher register. Second, the ability to sing in a higher register requires a conceptual switch which, in these cases, in nearly impossible for the student to make, since the wrong concept is based on the unnatural pattern of strain and cannot be changed until these harmful habits have been removed.

处理此类问题的最佳方法是避免试图“唱”出问题，而是学习如何在假声区发出基本的、像歌唱一样的音调。假声区起初听起来可能不太成熟，但用这种方式发出声音最终对嗓音的损害远小于用胸腔音区唱得太高，所需的努力也少得多，而且更悦耳。许多歌手本能地以这种方式保护自己的嗓音，他们会自动切换到不同的音质，并在进入高音区时保持放松——这是技巧、音乐感和流行歌唱品味的标志。这不仅适用于男性，也适用于女性，她们中的许多人往往宁愿用胸腔音高声演唱，也不愿让更高、听起来更女性化的假声发挥作用。但是，在不懂得如何……的情况下，用胸腔音高声演唱或强行将胸腔音带入假声区充其量是有害的。为了在高音区创造出更大的音量和饱满度，即像歌剧演员那样用饱满的头声唱歌，人们至少应该学会舒服地用假声唱歌而不强迫发声，即使这种假声听起来很薄弱、没有支撑，或者不能产生人们想要的那么响亮的声音。

The best way to handle such problems is to refrain from trying to “sing through” such problems and, instead, to learn how to produce a basic, sung tone in the falsetto registers. The falsetto register will at first sound quite undeveloped, but producing sound in this way is ultimately much less damaging to the voice than singing too high in chest register, requires far less effort, and is more pleasing to the ear. Many singers instinctively protect their voices in this way by automatically switching to a different tonal quality and remaining relaxed when shifting into the higher register—a sign of skill, musicality, and taste in popular forms of singing. This applies not just to men but also to women, many of whom would often rather belt in a chest voice than to allow the higher, more feminine-sounding falsetto to come into play. But belting or forcing the chest voice into falsetto range is harmful at best; in the absence of knowing how to create more volume and fullness of voice in the higher register—that is, to sing with a full head voice as operatic singers do—one should at the very least learn to sing comfortably in falsetto without forcing the voice, even if this type of falsetto sounds thin and unsupported or doesn’t produce as loud a sound as one might like.

流行歌手的另一个问题是，为了追求某些声音特质，例如气息和嘶哑，长期过度使用一个音区而忽略了另一个音区。当这种情况发生时，过度使用的音区就会占据主导地位，而另一个音区则无法正常发挥作用。迈克尔·杰克逊的歌声就是一个很好的例子。他小时候用他天生的高音区演唱，成年后却变成了女性化的声音，无法发出正常的胸腔音——一个被毁掉的发声器官。许多流行女歌手则恰恰相反，过度使用低音区，最终导致她们甚至无法在高音区发出哪怕是轻微的音调，也不会发出嘶哑的声音。这种对某个音区的长期使用和滥用最终会摧毁嗓音，使其无法正常运作，因为一些成分会萎缩，而另一些成分则会过度发展，失去对抗和平衡。好的歌唱需要整个肌肉系统的平衡运作，使所有功能都能正常运作。

Another problem among popular singers is to exploit certain vocal qualities such as breathiness and hoarseness by chronically overusing one register at the expense of the other. When this happens, the overused register becomes dominant and the other register can no longer function. A good example of this type of misuse and imbalance is the singing of Michael Jackson, who as a boy belted in his natural upper range and as an adult had an effeminate voice incapable of producing proper chest tones—a ruined vocal instrument. Many popular women singers do the opposite, overusing the lower range so that eventually they are incapable of producing even light tones in the upper range without sounding hoarse and throaty. This type of chronic use and abuse of one register will eventually destroy the voice, so that it cannot function properly because some of its elements have been atrophied and others so overdeveloped that it has no antagonism or balance. Good singing demands a balanced functioning of the entire musculature such that all functions can operate and are kept in working order.

功能整合

Integration of Functions

以这种方式平衡音域是发声训练的关键所在。比如说，如果你处于低音区，并试图提高音调，那么到了一定程度，你的胸腔声带将无法再进一步提升，而必须突然转换，不仅要改变声带厚度，而且正如我们之前所说，要改变声带的张力结构才能产生这种变化。发声肌会突然放松，而其他肌肉则会被迫收紧以进行补偿；这种突然转换的结果是振动模式的突然改变，通常伴随着振动的短暂停止，这两种情况我们都会听到声音的停顿。当我们用约德尔唱法演唱时，我们会故意让声音从胸声到假声，这样我们就能听到停顿，以及从一个极端到另一个极端的过渡，就像一种体操般的声音展示。

Balancing the registers in this way is a crucial aspect of vocal training. If you are in, say, the lower register and push the voice up in pitch, at a certain point you will not be able to go any further in chest voice but must all of a sudden shift, not only to a different vocal cord thickness but, in keeping with what we’ve said, to a new arrangement of tensions to create this shift. The vocalis muscle abruptly lets go while other muscles are forced to compensate by tightening; the result of this sudden shift is an abrupt change in the vibratory pattern, often with a kind of momentary stoppage of vibration, both of which we hear as a break in the voice. When we yodel, we are deliberately causing the voice to violently shift from chest to falsetto so that we hear the break, and the transition from one extreme to the other, as a kind of gymnastic vocal display.

学会通过更平衡、更协调地使用喉部和咽喉肌肉来克服声音的断续，是发声训练的核心问题之一。我们之前看到，喉部由一个外部肌肉网络支撑，这些肌肉构成喉部的弹性支架，并协助支撑和拉伸声带。对于一般未经训练的歌手来说，这种弹性支架在胸腔发声时不起作用，迫使歌手通过突然改变喉部肌肉张力的排列来在一个音区和另一个音区之间转换。相反，如果喉部在这个悬吊肌群中得到拮抗性支撑，这将为喉部带来整体改善的支撑，使高音区和低音区都能在一个支撑网络的环境中运作，这使得从一个音区到另一个音区的转换不仅难以察觉，而且在功能上是连续的。

Learning to overcome this break in the voice by producing a more balanced and coordinated use of the larynx and throat muscles is one of the central problems in vocal training. We saw earlier that the larynx is supported within a network of extrinsic muscles that form its elastic scaffolding and assist in supporting and stretching the vocal folds. In the average untrained singer, this elastic scaffolding is inactive in chest voice, forcing the singer to shift between one register and another by abruptly altering the arrangement of muscular tensions in the larynx. If, in contrast, the larynx is antagonistically supported within this suspensory musculature, this brings about an overall improved support for the larynx so that both the lower and upper register operate within the context of a supportive network that makes the shift from one to the other not just imperceptible but also functionally continuous.

打个比方，想象一下，当你坐着的时候，你懒洋洋地、瘫倒在地——我们大多数人说话时都是这样发声的。你决定站起来，重重地向前倾身，直到最后一刻，你紧紧抓住并绷紧腿部肌肉，好让自己从椅子上站起来。我们的声音就是这样。我们用沉重、无支撑的胸腔嗓音提高音调，直到这种结构不再能满足我们的需要，我们被迫突然切换到同样无支撑的假声。就像坐着的时候一样，我们需要系统提供更多整体支撑，这样我们在休息时才能更活跃，在活动时也能更安静——一种声音的平衡，使我们能够在更大的支持网络环境中使用每个音区。

To use an analogy, imagine if, when sitting, you are rather lazy and collapsed, which is how most of us use our voices when speaking. You decide to get up, coming forward in the chair rather heavily until, at the last moment, you grip and tighten your leg muscles in order to heave yourself out of the chair. This is precisely what happens with the voice. We ascend in pitch in a heavy, unsupported chest voice until, when this arrangement no longer serves our needs, we are forced to make a sudden and abrupt shift into an equally unsupported falsetto. As in sitting, we need more overall support in the system, so that we have more activity in rest and more rest in activity—a kind of vocal poise that makes it possible to use each register in the context of a larger supportive network.

当发声器官得到这样的支撑时，胸腔发声会更轻盈，塌陷感也会减少，而且在进入假声范围之前，悬浮元素往往就已经存在，使得从胸腔到假声的转换不那么突兀。反过来，假声也得到了支撑，使得从胸腔到假声的转换不那么明显。这会使喉部保持平衡运作——一种增强的拮抗活动，有助于不同音域健康、整合地运作。当这些条件存在时，假声可以发展成为成熟的“头声”，即唱出更高音域时具有更多的“胸声”活动、音量和音调的饱满度。

When the vocal organ is supported in this way, the chest voice is lighter and less collapsed, and the elements of suspension tend to be present even before going into falsetto range, making the shift from chest to falsetto much less abrupt. The falsetto, in turn, is supported so that the shift from chest to falsetto is less noticeable. This produces a balanced working of the larynx—a kind of increased antagonistic activity that makes for healthy, integrated functioning of the different vocal registers. When these conditions are present, the falsetto can then develop into the full-fledged “head” voice, which is the higher register sung with more “chest” voice activity, volume, and fullness of tone.

为了避免音域之间的断续，一些歌手尝试融合两个音域——也就是说，在两个音域之间架起桥梁，使音调不发生明显的变化。许多教师甚至走得更远，否认音域的存在，避免男声使用假声，并认为能够清晰地唱出低音和高音就足够了。但真正的问题不在于如何实现从低音到高音的平滑过渡，甚至不在于如何在单个音域内实现平滑的过渡，而在于如何实现声音的功能整合，无论使用哪种音域，都能积极地支持声音，使整体达到平衡。因此，融合音域问题的背后是一个功能问题：如何基于支撑肌肉的拮抗作用来支撑喉部，使其功能保持平衡。当这个系统正常工作时，每个音域都会作为一个功能整合的整体的一部分运作。这不仅代表着对声乐乐器更全面的掌握，而且还能保护声音，保持其音调和健康，并保持其灵活性和平衡性。

In order to avoid the break between registers, some singers try to blend the two registers—that is, to bridge the passage between the two registers so that there is no obvious shift in tone. Many teachers go even further and deny the existence of registers, shunning any use of the falsetto voice in men and arguing that it is simply necessary to be able to sing low and high notes cleanly. But the real problem isn’t to produce a smooth transition from low to high notes or even within a single register, but to achieve a functional integration of the voice in which the voice is actively supported, whatever register is being used, producing a balanced working of the whole. Underneath the problem of blending registers, then, is a functional issue: how to support the larynx so that its functions are balanced, based on the antagonistic action of the supporting musculature. When this system is working properly, each register operates as part of a functionally integrated whole. This not only represents a more complete command of the vocal instrument but also protects the voice, keeps it toned and healthy, and maintains its flexibility and balance.

由于正常纤细的假声无法以任何方式改变或发展，假声有时会被声乐老师所回避，他们认为假声是一种气息感强、塌陷且僵硬的声音运用，在声乐训练中不占一席之地。这种声音运用方式确实值得怀疑，因为正如我们刚才所见，它最终会导致音域的分化，导致某些功能过度使用，而其他功能则萎缩。然而，有支撑的假声则完全不同。这种假声是发展完全整合的声音的关键基础，这种声音中不存在音域分化，而是协调一致的使用，音域几乎消失。这就是为什么从美声唱法到现在，最古老的歌唱传统都强调假声区是声乐训练中的关键要素之一；事实上，缺乏假声区的声音就像一件永远无法得到充分发展的破损乐器。因此，独立音区的运作非但无害或不重要，反而是一个关键要素。在发声训练中，它代表着发展完整声音的基本功能。4

Because a normal, thin falsetto cannot be altered or developed in any way, the falsetto is sometimes shunned by singing teachers, who regard it as a sort of breathy, collapsed, and inflexible use of the voice that has no place in vocal training. This kind of vocal usage is indeed questionable because, as we just saw, it can eventually lead to a divergence of registers in which some functions become overused and others become atrophied. A supported falsetto, however, is a different matter entirely. This type of falsetto serves as a crucial foundation for developing a fully integrated voice in which there is no register divergence but one coordinated usage in which registers virtually disappear. This is one reason why the oldest traditions in singing, from bel canto to the present, emphasize the importance of the falsetto register as a crucial element in vocal training; in fact, a voice that lacks the falsetto register is a ruined instrument that can never be fully developed. The functioning of separate registers, then, far from being harmful or unimportant, is a crucial element in vocal training and represents a basic function out of which a full voice can be developed.4

我们的直立设计

Our Upright Design

然而，为了达到这种平衡，必须激活嗓音，即整个肌肉系统得到充分支撑。普通人唱歌时，嗓音或多或少处于一种“塌陷”状态，也就是说，喉部在其悬韧带肌肉中得不到适当的支撑。嗓音和面部肌肉无力，某些功能（通常是低音）过度劳累，以至于虽然能发出良好的说话声调，但歌唱范围却非常有限。为了完全唤醒歌唱嗓音，必须更积极地调动支​​撑喉部的肌肉，让面部肌肉活跃起来，激活整个系统，并激活歌唱中自然产生的交流和情感冲动。这会刺激支撑喉部的肌肉，从而使喉部的特定功能在完全勃起的悬韧带机制下得到支撑。

In order to achieve this balance, however, the voice must be activated—that is, fully supported as a total muscular system. When the average person sings, the voice is more or less collapsed—that is, the larynx is not properly supported within its suspensory muscles. The voice and facial muscles are enervated, and particular functions—usually the lower tones—are overworked in such a way that good speaking tones can be produced, but only a very limited singing range. In order to fully awaken the singing voice, the musculature supporting the larynx must be more actively brought into play, the facial muscles must be brightened, the entire system must be energized, and the communicative, emotive impulse natural to singing must be activated. This stimulates the muscles supporting the larynx so that the specific functions of the larynx are supported within the context of a fully erected suspensory mechanism.

反过来，所有这些品质都与我们直立的人体设计直接相关。许多声乐老师过于注重声音的即时改善，而没有充分注意发声器官所依赖的整体条件。例如，一些老师主要注重发声位置或打开喉咙，这两者都倾向于改善喉部的悬吊支撑。但喉部悬吊的环境是我们的直立支撑系统，它是喉部正确悬吊的关键背景（图 6-3）。事实上，我们在歌唱中寻找的所有品质——正确悬吊的喉部、张开的喉咙、抬起且灵活的上颚、明亮的脸色和恢复到完全灵活性的呼吸——最终都基于活跃的发声系统所依赖的直立支撑系统。

All these qualities, in turn, are directly related to our upright human design. Many singing teachers are so focused on immediate improvements in the voice that they do not give due attention to the overall conditions on which the vocal organ relies. Some teachers, for instance, focus largely on placing the voice or opening the throat, both of which tend to improve the suspensory support of the larynx. But the context within which the larynx is suspended is our upright support system, which is the crucial background within which the proper suspension of the larynx takes place (fig. 6-3). In fact, all the qualities we look for in singing—a properly suspended larynx, an open throat, a raised and flexible palate, a bright face, and breathing that has been restored to its full flexibility—are ultimately based on the upright support system on which an activated vocal system depends.

这并不是说，只要直立式支撑系统正常工作，就能自动产生出色的歌唱嗓音，或解决所有发声问题。事实上，这些条件有时也存在于天赋异禀的歌手身上，他们拥有能够自然支撑喉头的体型和完整完整的歌唱嗓音。但如果天赋异禀的歌手缺乏这些条件，只有当我们了解了嗓音健康所依赖的适当条件后，才能完全恢复这些条件。这些条件并非特定于特定情况，而是对整个机体普遍适用，并且基于直立支撑的自然运作。系统。由于发声功能障碍与误用有关，因此呼吸的正常状态和喉部弹性支架的正常状态最终都与整个肌肉系统的正常悬挂和支撑有关。

This isn’t to say that bringing about the proper working of the upright support system will automatically produce an excellent singing voice, or solve all vocal problems. It is also true that these conditions are sometimes present in naturally gifted singers, who possess the body type that naturally supports the larynx and a fully integrated singing voice. But when not present in the naturally gifted singer, these elements can be fully restored only when we understand the proper conditions upon which vocal health depends, which are not specific but general to the whole organism, and are based on the natural working of the upright support system. Because a collapsed use of the voice is related to misuse, the proper conditions of breathing and of the elastic scaffolding of the larynx are all related, ultimately, to proper suspension and support of the entire muscular system.

总而言之，歌唱技巧为了解人声及其功能提升提供了许多宝贵的见解，但很少有技巧是基于对人声作为一个整体系统如何运作、如何受到干扰以及如何将其恢复为一个完整整体的积极理解。发声器官天生就具有发声的组织结构，只要不受干扰就能发出声音；作为一个系统，它之所以能完成所有功能，是因为它拥有与生俱来的设计。当我们学会如何有效地运用它时，我们就是在尊重这种设计，激活并释放它与生俱来的美感和力量。声乐教学不仅仅是技巧的问题，更是协调发声器官作为一个整体系统的问题，而这首先是基于我们直立发声的设计。

To conclude, singing techniques offer many valuable insights into the human voice and how to improve its functioning, but few are based on a positive understanding of how the voice works as a total system, how this system is interfered with, and how to restore it as an integrated whole. The vocal organ is inherently organized to produce sound if it is not interfered with; as a system, it does all the things it does because it has an inherent design, and when we learn to use it well, we are honoring this design, activating and releasing its inherent beauty and power. Vocal pedagogy is not simply a matter of technique but of coordinating the vocal organ as a total system based, first and foremost, on our upright design.

头声

The Head Voice

对于那些有兴趣更详细地了解高音区运作机制的读者，我们来看一下所谓的“头声”——训练有素的歌手发出的强劲高音，其音域属于假声区，但又具有饱满、强劲的胸腔共鸣音质。这种音调可以很高，但又不像纯假声那样单薄，而是仿佛在头部高处产生共鸣，因此这种发声方式被称为“头声”。

For readers interested in understanding in more detail how the upper register works, let’s look at the so-called “head voice”—the powerful high notes of the trained singer producing tones in the falsetto range, but with a full, powerful chest voice quality. Such tones can be quite high in pitch yet do not have the thin sound of pure falsetto but seem to resonate high up in the head, which is why this type of vocal production is termed “head voice.”

然而，头声并非通过共鸣产生，而是在喉部产生。我们刚才看到，在胸腔音区，声带肌肉会主动收紧，使其浑厚并充分振动，从而产生胸腔音的丰富音色。在假声中，声带肌肉会放松，只有其内缘会运动，振动频率更快，音色的丰富度也会降低。当音符在假声区演唱，但声带肌肉像胸腔音一样充分振动时，就能产生发达的“头声”的完整声音。

The head voice, however, is produced not through resonance but in the larynx. We just saw that in chest register the vocalis muscle is actively tensing so that it is thick and brought into full vibration, producing the rich timbres of the chest voice. In falsetto, the vocalis muscle is relaxed so that only its inner margins are brought into motion, vibrating at a faster rate and with less richness of timbre. When notes are sung in the falsetto range, but in such a way that the vocalis muscles are fully vibrating as in chest voice, this produces the full sound of the developed “head voice.”

产生头声的关键是通过悬吊音的积极支持来平衡增加的发声活动喉部肌肉。我们之前看到，环甲肌拉伸声带。正如我们所见，在塌陷的声音中，喉部悬吊肌无法充分支持这一动作，因此，当音调上升时，声音会“断裂”为假声，听起来带有气息，与胸腔声音不同（图 6-4）。相反，如果悬吊肌积极参与并协助环甲肌的拉伸动作，就会产生更有支撑力的声音，这样胸腔声音和假声就能同时发挥作用。消除胸声与假声之间过渡的协调整体环境（图6-5）。

The key to producing the head voice is to counterbalance increased vocalis activity with the active support of the suspensory muscles of the larynx. We saw earlier that the cricothyroid muscles stretch the vocal folds. In a collapsed voice, as we saw, this action is not supported adequately by the suspensory muscles of the larynx so that, when rising in pitch, the voice “breaks” into falsetto, which sounds breathy and diverges from the chest voice (fig. 6-4). In contrast, if the suspensory muscles are actively engaged and assisting the stretching action of the cricothyroids, this produces a more supported quality, so that both the chest voice and falsetto operate in the context of a coordinated whole in which the transition between chest and falsetto is eliminated (fig. 6-5).

这种支撑假声活动构成了完整头声的基础。如果没有外部肌肉的悬吊支撑，声带肌肉就不可能在高音区发挥更大的作用，因为其收缩无法被支撑的外部肌肉系统抵消。但在悬吊肌肉的主动拉伸下，即使在声带肌肉受到相当大的拉伸的情况下，声带肌肉也能发挥作用，从而使胸腔音质得以发挥。在假声区（图6-6）。声带以更高的频率或音调振动，却能产生与胸腔共鸣相关的丰富音色——这是一个运动过程，或许是声乐技巧中最激动人心的部分。

This supported falsetto activity forms the foundation for the full head voice. Without the suspensory support of the extrinsic muscles, it is impossible to bring the vocalis muscles more fully into play in the higher range, because its contraction is not counterbalanced by the supporting extrinsic musculature. But in the context of this active stretching of the suspensory muscles, it becomes possible to bring the vocalis muscles into play even while considerable stretch is exerted on them, so that the chest voice qualities operate in the falsetto register (fig. 6-6). The vocal folds vibrate at a higher frequency or pitch yet produce the rich timbres associated with chest voice—an athletic process that represents perhaps the most exciting part of vocal virtuosity.

但如何才能达到这种发声效果呢？第一步是发展支撑假声，激活整个音域的悬吊肌。由于这部分肌肉通常较弱且未得到充分利用，因此必须格外注意加强和激活它。下一步是让声带肌（正如我们所见，它通常只在胸腔发声时运作）非常轻柔地发挥作用。由于声带肌与环甲肌和悬吊肌相互拮抗，因此必须以适当的方式引入它，以免破坏支撑声音的悬吊活动。这需要细腻和平衡，因为声带肌的活动很容易破坏喉部外部肌肉的悬吊支撑。当支撑假声发展到一定程度，使发声肌能够发挥作用，而不会影响悬吊肌的活动时，歌手就可以开始发展完整的头声。

But how does one achieve this type of vocal production? The first step is to develop the supported falsetto, activating the suspensory muscles over the entire range of the voice. Because this musculature is normally weak and underused, a considerable amount of attention must be given to strengthening and activating this system. The next step is to bring the vocalis muscles, which as we saw normally operate only in chest voice, very gently into play. Because the vocalis muscle acts antagonistically to the cricothyroid and suspensory muscles, it has to be introduced in such a way that it does not rupture the suspensory activity of the supported voice. This requires delicacy and balance because the vocalis muscle activity can easily disrupt the suspensory support of the extrinsic muscles of the larynx. When the supported falsetto is developed to the point that the vocalis muscles can be brought into play without compromising the action of the suspensory muscles, the singer can then begin to develop the full head voice.

有时，头声被称为独立的音域，因为它融合了胸声和假声的元素，从而产生与纯假声截然不同的声音。事实上，头声是支持假声的一种变体，除了那些能够本能地发出头声的天赋异禀的歌唱家外，假声的存在是发展头声的先决条件。重复之前所说的，学习假声是声乐训练中至关重要的元素，值得我们密切关注。许多歌唱流派拒绝使用假声，因为假声本身在古典歌唱中价值不大。但假声音域是发展完整声音的关键起点，在这个音域中没有音域分歧，完整的头声可以从中发展出来，因此它是任何完整声乐训练体系中的关键元素。

Sometimes the head voice is referred to as its own register because it blends elements of the chest and falsetto register, resulting in a sound quite different than a pure falsetto. In fact, the head voice is a variant of the supported falsetto and, except in the most naturally gifted singers, who are able to produce a head voice instinctively, the falsetto must exist as a precondition for developing a head voice. To repeat what was said earlier, then, the study of the falsetto voice is a crucial element in vocal training and will reward close attention. Many schools of singing reject the use of the falsetto, which in and of itself is of little value in classical singing. But the falsetto register represents a crucial starting point for developing a fully integrated voice in which there is no register divergence and out of which the full head voice can develop, and thus it represents a crucial element in any complete system of vocal training.

完整的头声

The Full Head Voice

让我们更详细地了解一下支撑假声和头声所必需的悬韧带肌肉活动。未经训练的歌手在唱高音时通常会抬高喉部并收缩喉咙。这是因为拉长声带的环甲肌（“拉伸肌”）与吞咽肌相连，而吞咽肌会抬高并收紧喉部。当环甲肌开始活动时，甲状软骨会被拉起，声带会在环状软骨和甲状软骨之间被拉伸（见图3-6）。这会提高音调，但会完全干扰声音。如果您通过“伸手”唱高音来提高音阶，您可以轻松观察到这一点：喉部明显抬高，但喉咙也会相应收紧，颈部也会紧张。在提高音调的过程中，喉咙会收紧，高音区的功能就会受损（图 6-4）。

Let’s look in more detail at the suspensory muscle activity essential to the supported falsetto and head voice. An untrained singer producing high notes will typically raise the larynx and constrict the throat. This is because the cricothyroid muscles that lengthen the vocal folds (the “stretchers”) are associated with the swallowing muscles, which elevate and tighten the larynx. As the cricothyroid muscles come into play, the thyroid cartilage is drawn up and the vocal cords are stretched between the cricoid and thyroid cartilages (see fig. 3-6). This raises the pitch but completely interferes with the voice. You can easily observe this if you sing up a scale by “reaching” for the high notes: the larynx visibly rises, but there is a corresponding tightening of the throat and tension in the neck. In the very act of raising the pitch, the throat is tightened and the function of the higher register is impaired (fig. 6-4).

相反，当悬吊肌发挥作用时，声带会被拉伸，但喉头会保持在较低位置。这是由胸骨甲状肌完成的，它主动下拉喉头，保持咽喉的伸长。甲状舌骨肌则通过上提甲状舌骨肌来对抗这一动作，防止喉头主动下压，因此两块肌肉相互拮抗，共同维持喉头的位置（图6-5）。5

When, in contrast, the suspensory muscles are brought into play, the vocal cords are stretched, but in such a way that the larynx is maintained in a low position. This is accomplished by the sternothyroid muscle, which actively pulls down on the larynx and maintains an elongated pharynx or throat. This action is opposed by the thyrohyoid muscle which, by elevating the thyroid, prevents the larynx from being actively depressed, so that the two muscles work antagonistically to maintain the position of the larynx (fig. 6-5).5

悬韧带肌也协助环甲肌提高音调。茎突咽肌起自茎突，与腭咽肌一同止于甲状软骨后缘，将甲状软骨向上向后拉，从而使其向前倾斜。胸骨甲状肌也协助完成这一动作，胸骨甲状肌向下拉甲状软骨前部。这些肌肉共同将甲状软骨向前下拉，帮助拉伸声带（图 6-5）。下缩肌也协助完成这一动作，下缩肌附着于甲状软骨，将甲状软骨的两翼向内拉；这使甲状软骨的切迹向前移动，帮助拉伸声带（图中未显示）。6

The suspensory muscles also assist the cricothyroids in raising the pitch. The stylopharyngeus muscle, which originates at the styloid processes and inserts, with the palatopharyngeus, into the posterior borders of the thyroid cartilage, pulls the thyroid cartilage up and back and thus has the effect of tilting it forward. This is assisted by the action of the sternothyroid muscle, which pulls downward on the front of the thyroid cartilage. Together, these muscles pull the thyroid cartilage down in front and help to stretch the vocal folds (fig. 6-5). These actions are aided by the inferior constrictor muscle, which attaches to the thyroid cartilage and tends to pull the wings of the thyroid cartilage toward each other; this moves the notch of the thyroid forward and helps to stretch the vocal folds (not pictured).6

作为悬吊肌，茎突咽肌也有助于扩张喉咙。由于茎突咽肌的起点比其插入甲状软骨的起点更远，它能将咽喉两侧向上向外拉，从而扩张喉咙。7 上腭运动辅助了这一动作，上腭运动在喉头保持低位时抬高上腭——打哈欠能有效地促进这一动作。这有助于延长和打开咽喉。

As a suspensory muscle, stylopharyngeus also helps to widen the throat. Because its origins at the styloid processes are further apart than its insertions into the thyroid cartilage, it draws the sides of the pharynx upward and outward, dilating the throat.7 This action is assisted by the elevators of the palate, which raise the palate as the larynx is maintained in a low position—an action that is brought about quite effectively by yawning. This helps to lengthen and open the pharynx.

最后，环咽肌从环状软骨起，构成下缩肌的最下部，将环状软骨向后向下固定（图6-5）。这使得甲状软骨能够在环状软骨上自由活动，并充分拉伸声带。8所有悬韧带肌的最终效果（如图6-7所示）是通过倾斜甲状软骨来拉伸声带，同时保持喉头低位和喉咙张开——这是一项需要喉部肌肉张力和喉部外肌拮抗作用的熟练操作。9

Finally, the cricopharyngeus muscle, which arises from the cricoid cartilage and forms the lowest part of the inferior constrictor, anchors the cricoid cartilage back and down (fig. 6-5). This enables the thyroid cartilage to move freely on the cricoid cartilage and to produce full stretching of the vocal folds.8 The net effect of all the suspensory muscles, pictured in figure 6-7, is to stretch the vocal folds by tilting the thyroid cartilage while at the same time maintaining a low larynx and an open throat—a skilled maneuver that requires tremendous muscular tone and antagonistic action of the extrinsic muscles of the larynx.9

敞开的喉咙

The Open Throat

如果你聆听一位训练有素的歌手演唱，你会注意到他的声音饱满、清脆，仿佛在周围空间回荡。歌手张开嘴，声音自然而然地发出；相比之下，未经训练的歌手则费力不讨好，却发出的声音却更少。造成这种差异的最大原因之一是，训练有素的歌手能够调整喉咙的形状，使其成为一个有效的共鸣腔，增强喉部发出的声音。通过这种方式，他能够基于规模经济效应，充分利用喉部发出的声音；只需付出最少的努力，并且不干扰喉部，他就能最大限度地利用喉部发出的声音。

If you listen to a trained singer, you’ll notice that the voice has a full, ringing quality that seems to reverberate in the surrounding space. The singer opens his mouth and the sound issues forth with no apparent effort; an untrained singer, in contrast, uses more effort to produce less sound. One of the biggest reasons for the difference is that the trained singer is able to shape the throat in such a way that it serves as an effective resonator to augment the sounds coming from the larynx. In this way, he is able to capitalize on the sound from the larynx based on an economy of scale; with a minimum of effort, and without interfering with the larynx, he is able to make the most of the sounds coming from the larynx.

掌握如何塑造声道，从而有效地增强喉部发出的声音，是声乐训练中至关重要的要素之一。专业歌手唱歌时，能够扩张和拉长喉咙，而这正是——不仅仅是发声支撑和喉部适当的振动——这才是能否发出歌剧中那种洪亮响亮的声音的关键。事实上，在声乐教学中，各种争议性的问题——音域如何运作、如何正确呼吸、如何训练嗓音——几乎所有人都认同的一个问题是：张开喉咙唱歌的重要性。

Knowing how to shape the vocal tract so that the sounds emanating from the larynx are effectively augmented is one of the most crucial elements in vocal training. When a professional singer sings, he is able to widen and lengthen the throat, and it is this element—not just vocal support and proper vibration of the larynx—that makes the difference in being able to produce the big, ringing sound heard in operatic voices. In fact, among the various controversial issues in vocal pedagogy—how the registers work, how to breathe properly, how to train the voice—this is the one issue about which there is almost universal agreement: namely, the importance of singing with an open throat.

共鸣者

The Resonators

我们之前看到，人声由三个部分组成：振动器、动力源和共鸣器。肺部呼出的气息是驱动声带运动的动力源，而声带则是产生声波的振动器。然而，正如我们所见，如果没有共鸣器，声带的振动只能产生微弱的嗡嗡声。正是由于这些振动在喉头上方的腔体（或声道）中得到增强，才呈现出人声饱满圆润的音色。

We saw earlier that there are three components that make up the human voice: the vibrator, the power source, and the resonator. The flow of breath from the lungs is the power source that sets the vocal folds into motion, and the vocal folds are the vibrators that create sound waves. As we saw, however, without a resonator the vibrations from the vocal folds produce only a weak buzzing sound. It is because these vibrations are augmented in the cavities above the larynx, or vocal tract, that they take on the fully rounded, rich timbre of the human voice.

人类声音的共鸣器由两个关键结构组成：咽喉和口腔（图 7-1）。咽喉有时又分为鼻腔、口腔和喉头区域，它从鼻腔或软腭延伸到喉头，当然也与口腔相连，一直延伸到嘴唇。当振动传入吉他琴身或小号喇叭时，这些腔体会提供一个空间，空气开始振动，充当共鸣器，放大并完善琴弦或小号手嘴唇发出的声音（图 7-2b）。在人类的声音中，咽喉和口腔起着相同的作用，放大喉头发出的声音（图 7-2a）。

Two key structures form the resonator of the human voice: the pharynx (or throat) and mouth (fig. 7-1). The pharynx, which is sometimes divided into the nasal, oral, and laryngeal regions, extends from the nasal region, or soft palate, to the larynx, and is of course continuous with the oral cavity extending forward to the lips. When vibrations travel into the body of a guitar or the horn of a trumpet, these cavities provide a space within which the body of air begins to vibrate, acting as a resonator to magnify and round out the sounds produced by the string or trumpeter’s lips (fig. 7-2b). In the human voice, the pharynx and oral cavity serve the same function, amplifying the sounds emanating from the larynx (fig. 7-2a).

一些发声技巧在讨论共鸣时会提到鼻腔、上颚、胸腔和头骨。但重要的是不要混淆振动和共鸣。有些身体表面在唱歌时确实会振动——也就是说，你可以“共鸣”胸腔、硬腭和各种骨骼。但从技术上讲，共鸣器并非指共鸣板或振动器，而是腔体内振动的空气体。唯一发挥这一功能（并且实际上在增强声音方面发挥作用）的腔体是口腔和咽喉。鼻腔有时被认为是共鸣腔，但即使鼻腔堵塞或被故意封闭，歌手也能发出几乎与鼻腔开放时相同的音调，这表明鼻腔在声音共鸣中实际上起着微不足道的作用。1

Some vocal techniques refer to the nasal cavities, palate, chest, and skull when discussing resonance. But it is important not to confuse vibration and resonance. Some body surfaces do vibrate during singing—that is, you can “resonate” the chest, the hard palate, and various bones. But a resonator, technically speaking, is not a sounding board or vibrator but the vibrating body of air within a cavity, and the only cavities that serve this function—and that actually play a role in augmenting the sound—are the mouth and the pharynx. The nasal cavities are sometimes considered a resonator, but even when this cavity is congested or deliberately closed off, singers are able to produce virtually the same tones as when this cavity is open, which demonstrates that the nasal cavity actually plays a minimal role in vocal resonance.1

开喉功

The Function of Opening the Throat

人声的独特之处在于，与吉他或小号共鸣器的形状固定不同，人的声道可以修改或改变形状，这对声音质量起着至关重要的作用。每个共鸣器都有最大频率范围或共振，在该范围内，共鸣器通过加强某些泛音并抑制其他泛音来最有效地放大声音。如果喉咙的振动与这些频率不匹配，就会被衰减；如果匹配，就会被增强。这就是打开喉咙的作用所在。在正常说话时，喉咙是否打开并不重要；即使喉咙收缩说话，我们大多数人也能听清楚（图 7-3a）。但歌手必须在大厅里让人听到，而且她必须能够长时间做到这一点而不会使声音紧张。通过扩大声道，她可以“调整”共鸣器，使之与喉咙发出的振动频率相匹配（图 7-3b）。这使得她的歌声更响亮、更饱满；也使唱歌变得更容易，因为她不必付出更多努力，而是提高了放大喉部声音的效率。

What makes the human voice unique is that, unlike the fixed shape of the resonator of a guitar or trumpet, the human vocal tract can be modified or altered in shape, which plays a crucial role in vocal quality. Every resonator has maximum frequency ranges, or resonances, within which it most effectively amplifies sound by accentuating certain overtones and dampening others. If vibrations from the larynx are mismatched to these frequencies, they will be dampened; if matched, they will be augmented. This is where opening the throat comes in. In normal speech it does not matter a great deal whether the throat is open; most of us are heard well enough even when speaking with a constricted throat (fig. 7-3a). But a singer must be heard in a large hall, and she must be able to do this for long periods without straining the voice. By enlarging the vocal tract, she “tunes” her resonator to match the frequency of the vibrations coming from the larynx (fig. 7-3b). This makes her singing louder and fuller; it also makes singing much easier, since she doesn’t have to increase effort but rather increases the efficiency with which she amplifies the sounds from the larynx.

打开喉咙还能改善共鸣腔壁的质量，从而显著改变声音。人体共鸣腔的某些部分很硬，例如硬腭和牙齿，但它大部分是粘膜，由肌肉组织构成。当喉咙紧绷时，这种肌肉张力往往会抑制声音，突出不良泛音，并抑制良好泛音。相反，柔软的喉咙会突出良好泛音，并抑制不良泛音，从而产生更丰富、更饱满的声音。简而言之，声道壁的状况会显著影响喉咙内气团的共振特性。2

Opening the throat also improves the quality of the walls of the resonance cavity, which markedly alters the sound. Some parts of the human resonator are hard—such as the hard palate and teeth—but most of it is mucous membrane and is formed by muscular tissue. When the throat is tight, this muscular tension tends to dampen the sound, accentuating undesirable overtones and muffling desirable ones. Conversely, a soft throat accentuates the desirable overtones and dampens the undesirable ones, creating a richer, fuller sound. In short, the condition of the walls of the vocal tract markedly affects the resonance characteristics of the body of air within the throat.2

因此，打开喉咙会对喉头发出的声音产生显著的影响。如果喉咙闭合缩短，就无法形成良好的共鸣腔，导致声音被挤压或抑制。只有当喉咙适当打开和延长时，它才能发挥有效的共鸣腔作用，将声带的振动转化为最终的声音。同样，歌手的这些改进并非通过改变喉头发出的声音，而只是通过改变喉头上方腔体的形状来实现的。我们赋予良好歌唱嗓音的许多特质实际上并非归功于喉头（即使在未经训练的歌手中，喉头也能相对高效地运作），而是归功于声道的改变。训练有素的歌剧歌手只需塑造共鸣腔的形状，就能将喉头发出的简单原始音色转化为饱满、华丽的声音。这样就可以用最少的努力唱歌，因此，与经验不足的歌手发出的紧闭喉咙的声音相比，发出的声音实际上需要更少的能量，而经验不足的歌手发出的声音会变得狭窄，而且声音疲劳得更快。

Opening the throat, then, has a dramatic effect on the sound produced by the larynx. If the throat is closed up and shortened, it doesn’t make a good resonator, so that the sound is pinched or dampened. It is only when the throat is properly opened and lengthened that it serves as an effective resonator and transforms the vibrations from the vocal folds into a finished vocal product. And again, the singer makes these improvements not by altering the sounds she produces in her larynx but simply by changing the shape of the cavities above the larynx. Many of the qualities we associate with a good singing voice can in fact be attributed not to the larynx, which functions relatively efficiently even in untrained singers, but to modifications of the vocal tract. Simply by shaping the resonator, the trained operatic singer is able to transform the simple raw material emanating from the larynx into a rich, lush sound. This makes it possible to sing with a minimum of effort so that this bigger sound actually takes less energy to produce than the close-throated product of a less experienced singer who produces a pinched tone, and whose voice tires much more quickly.

开放喉咙（喉部较低且喉咙较宽）

The Open Throat (the Low Larynx and Widened Throat)

塑造和打开喉咙涉及几个要素。首先是扩大和延长咽喉。我们在上一章中看到，未经训练的歌手在演唱高音时会收紧颈部肌肉，并通过抬高喉头和收缩喉咙来“达到”音调（见图6-4）。我们在上一章中看到，造成这种收缩的主要原因之一是喉咙收缩肌过度活跃，这些收缩肌的功能是吞咽时，咽喉会自动收缩并变窄。由于负责抬高音调的肌肉——环甲肌——与吞咽肌肉密切相关，因此歌手的音调越高，喉咙收缩的趋势就越明显。吞咽也与喉部的抬高和收缩有关，以防止食物进入气道。这种抬高喉部和收缩喉咙的倾向通常是头部后仰和身材缩短的更广泛模式的一部分，构成了声音的基本滥用。

There are several elements involved in shaping and opening the throat. The first is widening and lengthening the pharynx. We saw in the last chapter that an untrained singer producing high notes will tighten his neck muscles and “reach” for the notes by raising the larynx and constricting the throat (see fig. 6-4). We saw in the last chapter that one of the main causes of this constriction is overactivity of the constrictors of the throat, which are designed to automatically contract and narrow the pharynx when we swallow. Because the muscles that raise the pitch—the cricothyroids—are closely associated with these swallowing muscles, the higher the singer goes in pitch, the more he will tend to constrict the throat. Swallowing is also associated with raising and constricting the larynx in order to prevent food from going down the air passageway. This tendency to raise the larynx and to constrict the throat is usually part of a larger pattern of pulling the head back and shortening in stature and constitutes a basic misuse of the voice.

喉咙收缩会带来一些负面影响。首先，抬高喉头会缩短声道的长度，从而使共鸣腔不仅直径减小，深度也减小。作为共鸣腔，缩短的咽喉与喉头的振动不匹配，因此无法再有效发挥作用。其次，咽壁的张力也会影响咽壁的质量，进一步影响声道作为有效共鸣腔的能力。最后，吞咽肌的动作不仅与抬高喉头有关，还与关闭喉瓣（包括假声带）有关，从而干扰喉头内在肌和声带的振动动作。

This constriction of the throat has several negative effects. First, raising the larynx shortens the length of the vocal tract, so that the resonator is reduced not only in diameter but also in depth. As a resonator, the shortened pharynx is mismatched to the vibrations of the larynx, so that it can no longer function efficiently. Second, tension in the walls of the pharynx also interferes with the quality of the pharynx walls, further interfering with the ability of the vocal tract to act as an efficient resonator. Finally, the action of the swallowing muscles is associated not only with raising the larynx but also with closing the valve of the larynx (including the false vocal cords), interfering with the intrinsic muscles of the larynx and the vibratory action of the vocal folds.

保持喉咙宽阔且喉头处于低位（前提是喉头没有被主动压低），会产生相反的效果（图 7-4b）。喉头不但不会收缩，反而会保持放松，并且喉头不会随音调上升，而是保持在低位。这会增加声道的长度，放松假声带，并加宽喉头上方形成声道开口的颈圈。声道的这种加长和加宽会产生两种效果。首先，它使元音变暗，使男高音的声音更具男中音的音质，这种效果有时被称为“覆盖音”或“覆盖”。3其次，它会产生一个额外的腔体，其频率水平与喉头的振动更接近，产生新的峰值共振，使歌手的声音在大型音乐厅或大型管弦乐队中都能被听到。有时被称为“歌手共振峰”，这种额外的共振几乎完全是由通过拉长和拓宽喉咙；也许比发声训练中的任何其他元素都更能将人类声道转变为一个非常高效的共鸣器，产生歌剧嗓音的响亮声音。4

Keeping the throat widened and the larynx low—provided the larynx is not actively depressed—produces the opposite effect (fig. 7-4b). Instead of being constricted, the larynx remains relaxed, and instead of ascending with the pitch, the larynx is kept in a low position. This increases the length of the vocal tract, relaxes the false vocal cords, and widens the collar above the larynx that forms the opening to the vocal tract. This lengthening and widening of the vocal tract produces two effects. The first is that it darkens the vowel sounds, giving a more baritone quality to a tenor voice—an effect sometimes called a “covered tone” or “covering.”3 Second, it creates an additional cavity whose frequency level matches more closely with the vibrations of the larynx, producing a new peak resonance that makes it possible for the singer to be heard in a big concert hall or over a large orchestra. Sometimes called the “singer’s formant,” this extra resonance is created almost entirely by lengthening and widening the throat; perhaps more than any other element in vocal training, it transforms the human vocal tract into a remarkably efficient resonator that produces the big, ringing sound of the operatic voice.4

软腭

The Soft Palate

喉头的降低和咽喉的打开又与软腭紧密相关。软腭形成一种可移动的帘子，悬挂在咽喉的顶部。它的主要功能之一是在吞咽时将食物盖住，以防止食物进入鼻腔；当软腭以这种方式下压时，喉头会被拉起或抬高，这样食物就不会进入气道（图 7-4a）。当我们打哈欠或深呼吸时，这些运动会逆转：软腭抬起并拱起，而构成咽喉下部的喉头则会降低，以提供更长的共鸣腔（图 7-4b）。当我们吞咽时，喉头当我们闭合时，喉头和软腭会相互靠近；当我们需要打开喉咙呼吸时，它们会相互远离。

Lowering the larynx and opening the throat are in turn closely connected with the soft palate. The soft palate forms a kind of movable curtain hanging down at the top of the pharynx. One of its primary functions is to close down over food when swallowing to prevent the food from entering the nasal cavity; when the palate is depressed in this way, the larynx is pulled up or elevated so that food does not go down the airway (fig. 7-4a). When we yawn or take a deep breath, these movements are reversed: the palate is raised and arched while the larynx, which forms the lower part of the pharynx, is lowered to provide a longer resonator (fig. 7-4b). When we swallow, the throat closes and the larynx and the soft palate move toward each other; when we need to open the throat to breathe, they move away from each other.

软腭是影响喉咙开放度和形状的另一个关键因素。唱歌时上腭收紧或下陷，喉头就会抬高，喉咙也会收紧（图 7-5b）；而上腭拱起则喉头会降低，喉咙也会更加开放（图 7-5a）。由于我们有害的久坐生活方式，软腭容易塌陷，影响其自然灵活性和完全打开的能力。哼唱和打哈欠是特别有效的提升和调节上腭的练习；歌手无需费力就能有意识地学会抬高上腭拱，降低喉头，并打开喉咙。由于这会使喉咙加深加宽，其效果是使元音变暗，使男声的音色更具男中音质感，女高音的音色更具女低音质感，这就是为什么它被称为“覆盖”音或“覆盖”。简而言之，降低喉头和加宽喉咙可以显著影响声道的长度，进而会显著影响声音。

The soft palate, then, is another crucial element affecting the openness and shape of the throat. When we sing with a tightened or depressed palate, this is associated with a raised larynx and a tight throat (fig. 7-5b); an arched and raised palate is associated with a lower larynx and a more open throat (fig. 7-5a). With our harmful, sedentary lifestyles, we tend to collapse the soft palate and to interfere with its natural flexibility and its ability to open fully. Humming and yawning are particularly useful exercises for raising and toning the palate; without much effort a singer can learn consciously to raise the arches of the palate, to lower the larynx, and to open the throat. Because this deepens and widens the throat, its effect will be to darken the vowels, lending more baritone quality to the tone in a man’s voice or alto to a soprano voice, which is why it is called “covered” tone or “covering.” In short, lowering the larynx and widening the throat can dramatically affect the length of the vocal tract, which in turn will dramatically affect the sound.

打哈欠还有另一个重要的原因。许多人长期患有软腭塌陷，软腭失去弹性，无法再以必要的方式拱起以打开喉咙。当我们打哈欠时，我们会以拮抗的方式激活这些肌肉，使它们伸展，就像我们早上伸展全身一样——这个过程在猫和婴儿身上可以看到，它们早上醒来时会全身“打哈欠”。这往往会拉伸和调理肌肉，为活动做好准备。如果喉咙肌肉因长时间说话而变得紧张，打哈欠也有助于恢复它们的伸展和张力。

Yawning is important for another reason. Many people chronically collapse the soft palate, which loses flexibility so that it can no longer arch in the way that is necessary to opening the throat. When we yawn, we are activating these muscles in an antagonistic way which allows them to stretch, as we do with the entire body in stretching in the morning—a process that can be observed in cats and young infants, who wake in the morning and “yawn” with the entire body. This tends to stretch and tone the muscles and to prepare them for activity. Yawning also helps to restore stretch and tone to the throat muscles if they have become tight from long hours of using the speaking voice.

嘴巴和下巴

The Mouth and Jaw

口腔和下颌在声道的形成中也起着至关重要的作用。正常说话时，下颌无需张大；然而，为了唱歌，下颌应该张得更开，这样声音就不会被阻塞，并形成足够大的口腔，从而实现有效的共鸣。歌手或演讲者还应该能够在不收紧下颌的情况下发出声音，并且能够在所有元音上自由张开下颌，而不会影响头部的平衡，也不会收紧舌头、喉头和喉咙。由于下颌长期后缩的倾向，许多歌手发现很难做到这一点。

The mouth and jaw also play a crucial role in shaping the vocal tract. Normal speech does not require that the jaw be opened widely; for the purposes of singing, however, the jaw should open more fully so that the sound is not blocked and to create a large enough oral cavity for efficient resonance. A singer or speaker should also be able to produce sound without tightening the jaw, and be able to open the jaw freely on all vowels without disturbing the balance of the head and without tightening the tongue, larynx, and throat in general. Because of the tendency to chronically retract the jaw, many singers find this difficult to achieve.

由于颌骨是歌唱乐器的重要组成部分，熟悉颌骨的基本力学结构将大有裨益。颌骨与颅骨的颞骨形成一个关节，称为颞下颌关节（图7-6）。颞下颌关节的主要运动是铰链运动，例如张开和闭合颌骨。然而，这个关节并非纯粹的铰链，而是“悬挂”在颞骨上，使颌骨不仅可以铰链，还可以向前滑动。并向后移动。当我们在正常说话时张开下颌时，下颌只是在颞下颌关节处转动（图 7-7a）。当我们像唱歌一样将下颌张得更大时，它不仅会转动，还会向前滑动（图 7-7b）。通过用力张开下颌来实验这一点很有用，这会使下颌向后缩回并阻止其向前滑动；这会卡住颞下颌关节并使其无法完全打开。如果您然后轻轻地张开下颌，同时让它向前滑动，您会感觉到下耳前方有一个口袋打开了，下颌就会张得更完全。

Because the jaw is such an important part of the singing instrument, it is helpful to become familiar with the basic mechanics of the jaw. The jaw, or mandible, forms a joint with the temporal bones of the skull, called the temporomandibular or TM joint (fig. 7-6). The main movement we make at the temporomandibular joint is a hinging action, as when we open and close the jaw. This joint, however, is not a pure hinge but “hangs” from the temporal bones, making it possible not only to hinge the jaw but also to slide it forward and back. When we open the jaw during normal speech, the jaw simply hinges at the TM joint (fig. 7-7a). When we open the jaw more widely, as in singing, it not only hinges but glides forward (fig. 7-7b). It is useful to experiment with this by forcefully opening the jaw, which will tend to retract it and prevents it from gliding forward; this jams the TM joint and keeps it from opening fully. If you then open the jaw gently and at the same time allow it to glide forward, you will feel a pocket open just in front of the lower ear and the jaw will open more fully.

许多歌手感觉下颌难以放松，并试图通过活动下颌或进行放松肌肉的练习来缓解紧张。但正如我们在第4章中看到的，下颌与下颌下方的肌肉紧密相连（图7-8），下颌紧张通常是较大下颌压力的征兆。该区域的不平衡。当这些肌肉变得紧张时，下颌肌肉就会被迫通过收紧来进行补偿。当喉咙的肌肉能够放松时，头部可以在头骨上保持平衡向前，喉咙肌肉不会拉扯头骨，而是自由地悬挂在头骨上，这时下颌肌肉就不再需要收缩，而是会同步放松（图 7-9）。这时，看看你是否可以在不影响头部平衡或呼吸的情况下张开和闭合下颌，这将有助于纠正一些最初导致下颌紧张的不良习惯。简而言之，当下颌所依赖的更大的直立支撑系统运转良好时，当我们在使用下颌发出声音时能够不受这个更大的系统的影响时，下颌就会放松并自由移动。

Many singers feel that they can’t easily free the jaw and try to alleviate the tension by moving the jaw or performing exercises for releasing the muscles. But as we saw in Chapter 4, the jaw is intimately connected with the muscles on the underside of the jaw (fig. 7-8), and tension in the jaw is usually symptomatic of a larger imbalance in this region. When these muscles become tight, the jaw muscles are forced to compensate by tensing. When the muscles of the throat are able to release so that the head is balanced forward on the skull and the throat muscles instead of pulling on the skull are freely suspended from the skull, then the jaw muscles will no longer have to contract and will sympathetically release (fig. 7-9). It is useful to then see if you can open and close the jaw without disturbing head balance or breathing, which will help to address some of the harmful habits that led to the jaw tension in the first place. In short, the jaw relaxes and moves freely when the larger upright support system on which it depends is working well, and when we are able to leave this larger system alone while using the jaw and producing sound.

舌头

The Tongue

舌头与下颌一样，与喉咙的肌肉相连。不发声时，舌头应保持静止位置：舌尖抵住下齿，舌体自然拱起，抵住硬腭。唱歌时，舌体自然不再抵住硬腭，而是随着下颌张开而下垂。变平并形成轻微的凹槽。发生这种情况时，舌头应保持自由，这意味着它不应该压迫喉部。

Like the jaw, the tongue is linked with the musculature of the throat. When not vocalizing, the tongue should remain in the rest position: the tip touching the lower teeth, the body of the tongue naturally arching so that it rests against the hard palate. In singing, the body of the tongue will of course no longer rest on the hard palate but will drop with the jaw as the jaw opens, flattening and forming a slight groove. When this happens, the tongue should remain free, which means that it should not press down on the larynx.

在这种下垂的姿势下，舌头会形成一种自然的扩音器形状——即舌头位置更高、下倾，从而为口腔创造一个相当大的开口（图 7-10a）。这并非固定的姿势，而只是舌头在发出中性元音或“啊”音时所呈现的一般形状。舌头绝对不应该抬起，否则会产生更尖锐或更紧绷的声音（图 7-10b），而应该自然下垂到让音调通过。许多方法试图通过建议学生伸出舌头或进行其他练习来实现自由。但就像喉部和下颌一样，舌头与头部平衡息息相关，而获得自由的关键在于建立起这块支撑肌肉的协调状态。

In this dropped position, the tongue forms a kind of natural megaphone shape—that is, higher in back and sloping downward to create a fairly large opening for the mouth (fig. 7-10a). This should not be a fixed position but is simply the general shape the tongue will take when forming a neutral vowel or “ah” sound. The tongue should very definitely not be raised, which will produce a more strident or pinched tone (fig. 7-10b), but should naturally drop to let the tone through. Many methods attempt to achieve freedom by suggesting the student stick the tongue out or perform other exercises. But like the larynx and jaw, the tongue is linked to head balance, and the key to its freedom is to establish a coordinated condition of this supporting musculature.

元音的形成

Vowel Formation

对喉咙张开至关重要的最后一个要素是元音的形成。根据我们日常的说话经验，大多数人如果被问到，都会说元音是一个发音开放的字母，而不是辅音的断音。但正如许多歌手所知，元音的意义远不止于此。如果你发声时不刻意发音，声音自然会以元音的形式发出，因为当你张开嘴唱歌时，元音就是发出的音。

A final component that is crucial to the opening of the throat is vowel formation. Based on our everyday experience with speech, most of us, if asked, would say that a vowel is an open-sounding letter, as opposed to the broken-up sounds of consonants. But as many singers know, vowels are far more significant than this. If you vocalize without trying to articulate specific words, the sound will of course come out in the form of a vowel because that is the sound that will be produced when you open your mouth and sing.

因此，元音并非仅仅是像辅音那样的另一种声音；它是发声的本质，是我们在不构成词语的情况下发出纯粹的歌唱音调时发出的声音。当然，元音可以发出不同类型的声音，但只要你唱歌，就必须发出某种元音，这就是为什么元音对于发声如此重要。由于歌唱中喉咙的使用必然涉及元音的形成，因此，如果你想让你的喉咙保持开放，你必须意识到你是如何发出元音的。

A vowel, then, isn’t simply another kind of sound like a consonant; it is the de facto sound of vocalizing, the sound we make when we produce a pure sung tone without forming words. It is of course possible to make different kinds of vowel sounds, but if you sing at all, you must form a vowel of some kind, which is why vowels are so basic to vocal production. Since the use of the throat in singing necessarily involves vowel formation, you must be aware of how you are forming your vowels if you want your throat to be open.

元音很大程度上与舌头的位置有关，因此，当我们谈论元音的形成时，我们实际上是在谈论舌头的主动使用。舌头在口腔中形成一个驼峰，我们如何形成这个驼峰很大程度上决定了我们发出什么元音（图 7-11）。正如我们刚才看到的，最基本的元音——即与舌头的操作或刻意塑造最少相关的元音——是“啊”的音。如果形成良好，“啊”元音的发声将允许舌头上方和后方有自由空间，舌头本身既不会向后也不会向下压。这将允许共振器最大限度地“调谐”到振动器；这不仅使声音更响亮、更丰富，而且还会影响发声的效率和振动，因此也是正确使用发声器的一部分。

Vowels are largely related to tongue position, so that when we speak of vowel formation we are really speaking of the active use of the tongue. The tongue forms a hump in the mouth, and how we form this hump largely determines what vowel sound we make (fig. 7-11). As we just saw, the most basic vowel—that is, the one associated with the least manipulation or deliberate shaping of the tongue—is the “ah” sound. If it is well-formed, production of the “ah” vowel will allow freedom of space above and behind the tongue, and the tongue itself will press neither back nor down. This will allow maximum “tuning” of the resonator to the vibrator; this not only makes the sound louder and richer but also impacts on the efficiency and vibration of the vocal folds, and so is part of the correct usage of the vocal instrument.

在学会唱纯歌时不干扰舌头之后，下一步是看看是否有可能不干扰用下颌、舌头、嘴唇和上颚分解元音形成辅音时，喉咙的张开程度至关重要。这可能尤其具有挑战性，因为在日常语音中，辅音的形成往往与喉咙的闭合有关。在歌剧和古典歌唱中，特定声音的发音通常取决于喉咙的张开程度和整体的发音效果，这要求即使某些词句不完全清晰，元音也必须保持张开。在其他歌唱风格中，情况并非如此，歌手通常会闭合元音并在辅音上结束音符（例如爵士乐），并且通常更注重词汇的运用而不是音调的产生（例如摇滚乐和布鲁斯音乐）。然而，一般来说，音调的质量不应因使用发音器官来形成辅音而受到影响；这就是为什么对于那些试图改掉不良发音习惯的声音使用者来说，唱歌是一项很好的练习。

After learning to leave the tongue alone while singing a pure sung tone, the next step is to see if it is possible not to interfere with the openness of the throat when breaking up the vowel sound with the jaw, tongue, lips, and palate to form consonants. This can be particularly challenging, since the formation of consonants in everyday speech tends to be associated with closing the throat. In operatic and classical singing, the articulation of particular sounds is often subordinated to the openness of the throat and to overall sound production, which requires that the vowels be kept open even if particular words aren’t entirely clear. This is less true in other styles of singing, where singers often close the vowels and end notes on consonants (for instance, in jazz singing), and where the lexicon of speech is often favored over tone production (as in rock and roll and blues). In general, however, the quality of tone production should not be compromised by the use of the articulators in forming consonants; this is why singing one’s words is a good exercise for voice users who are trying to unlearn harmful speech habits.

对歌手和演讲者来说，另一个非常有效的练习是延长元音发音，同时说出一个单词或一系列单词。这有助于歌手（或演讲者）注意喉咙，并学会将发音器官（即下颌、上颚、嘴唇和舌头）的动作服从于元音的形成，以此为基础，在日常讲话中更有意识地运用喉咙。这通常也有助于克服许多人说话急促的习惯，并建立更具表现力和自然的说话节奏。

Another invaluable exercise for both singers and speakers is to speak a word or series of words while prolonging the vowel sounds. This helps the singer (or speaker) to be aware of the throat and to learn to subordinate the action of the articulators—that is, the jaw, palate, lips, and tongue—to the formation of vowel sounds as the basis for establishing a more conscious use of the throat in everyday speech. It is also generally helpful in overcoming the habit, which many people suffer from, of rushing one’s speech, and establishes a more expressive and natural speaking rhythm.

元音也受语言的影响很大。古典和歌剧歌手倾向于使用最开放的元音，这就是为什么意大利语是歌唱的理想语言：它的所有元音都是开放的。英语尤其倾向于非常封闭的喉咙，原因有二。首先，它由不纯或混合元音组成，不像意大利语的纯元音那样开放。其次，许多英语单词被辅音严重分割。例如，比较一下意大利语和英语中italiano的发音；用意大利语发音时，元音开放、持续且富有表现力；在英语发音中，你几乎听不到元音，因为这个词完全被辅音分割了。简而言之，如果我们想要最大限度地提高共振能力喉咙，我们必须学会形成相对开放的元音，并将其应用于任何文本和语言。

Vowels are also highly influenced by language. Classical and operatic singers tend to favor the most open vowels, which is why Italian is the ideal language for singing: all its vowels are open. The English language, in particular, tends to be very closed-throated for two reasons. First, it is comprised of impure or mixed vowels that are not as open as the pure vowels of Italian. Second, many English words are highly broken up with consonant sounds. As an example of this, compare the pronunciation of the word italiano spoken in Italian and English; pronounced in Italian, the vowels are open, sustained, and expressive; in the English pronunciation you can hardly hear the vowels because the word is completely chopped up by consonants. In short, if we want to maximize the resonant capacity of the throat, we have to learn to form relatively open vowels and apply this to any text and language.

许多流行歌手在演唱时或多或少地忽略了喉咙的存在，反而以为自己是在用嘴巴唱歌。实际上，这意味着喉咙大部分时间都处于闭合和紧绷的状态；从概念上讲，这表明歌手更关注的是自己的嘴巴而不是喉咙，因为嘴巴被视为发声必须打开的门户，我们用嘴巴造词，因此对嘴巴的意识比对喉咙的意识更强。当歌手将意识扩展到不仅包括嘴巴，还包括整个声道时，他就不再认为自己是在用嘴巴唱歌，而是在用整个喉咙唱歌。正如著名声乐教师曼努埃尔·加西亚所说：“歌手真正的嘴巴应该被视为咽喉。” 5

Many popular singers are more or less unconscious of their throats when they vocalize and think instead that they are singing from their mouths. In practical terms this means that the throat is closed and tight most of the time; conceptually, it indicates that the singer is more aware of his mouth than his throat, since the mouth is seen as the doorway that must be open in order for sound to come out, and since we form words with our mouths and are therefore more conscious of the mouth than the throat. When the singer extends his awareness to encompass not just the mouth but the entire vocal tract, he no longer thinks that he is singing from his mouth but from the entire throat. As Manuel García, the famous singing teacher, put it, “The real mouth of a singer ought to be considered the pharynx.”5

喉咙和直立系统

The Throat and the Upright System

由于喉咙的肌肉很大程度上处于意识控制之下，因此许多与打开喉咙有关的要素，例如拱起上颚和降低喉头，都是可以有意识地学习的。但是，尽管可以（并且有益于）专注于打开喉咙的某些方面，但普遍的倾向是通过发声器官的一般误用和塌陷来闭合喉咙，这就是直接尝试打开喉咙往往不够的原因。正如我们所见，喉咙的收紧和变窄是发声器官紧张和塌陷的更大模式的一部分；因此，打开和释放喉咙结构的关键是头部和躯干的拉长状态，使喉咙自由悬挂而不是向下拉动头骨。这使得喉头可以自由悬挂，而不会被向后、向下或向上压住；喉咙可以张开且柔软；上颚可以活动且灵活；下颌可以放松；嘴和嘴唇可以放松。所有这些条件都是我们固有支撑系统的一部分；声道的关键不在于喉咙，而在于我们的直立设计。

Because the muscles of the throat are largely under conscious control, many of the elements involved in opening the throat, such as arching the palate and lowering the larynx, can be consciously learned. But although it is possible—and useful—to focus on specific aspects of opening the throat, the universal tendency is to close the throat through general misuse and collapse of the vocal organ, which is why direct attempts at opening the throat are often inadequate. Tightening and narrowing of the throat, as we’ve seen, are part of a larger pattern of tension and collapse in the vocal organ; the key to opening and freeing the structures of the throat, then, is the lengthened condition of the head and trunk in which the throat hangs freely instead of pulling down on the skull. This allows the larynx to be suspended freely so that it isn’t pinned back, down, or up; the throat to be open and soft; the palate to be mobile and flexible; the jaw to be released; and the mouth and lips to be relaxed. All these conditions are part of our inherent support systems; the key to the vocal tract is not the throat but our upright design.

什么是安置？

What Is Placement?

位置感是一个深奥的概念，就像舞者使用的概念一样，指的是歌手在身体上瞄准不同部位“引导”声音的能力。“把音调放在前面”，“对着面具唱歌”，老师用一种只有入门者才能理解的奇怪语言说。但我们都对位置感的概念有所体会。如果你模仿乡村歌手的鼻音拖长，或者酒吧歌手的沙哑嗓音，你实际上是在调整声音的位置，尽管从古典或歌剧演唱的角度来看，调整方式并不理想。模仿或讽刺某人时调整声音的位置是本能；孩子们在做这件事时并不知道自己是怎么做的。训练有素的歌手在调整声音的位置时也会做同样的事情，只不过目的不是为了夸大特定的音质，而是为了激发、平衡和整合不同的声音功能。

Placement is an esoteric concept, like those used by dancers, that refers to the ability to target various points in the body where the singer should “direct” the sound. “Place the tone forward,” “sing into the mask,” the teacher says, in a strange language understood only by the initiated. But we have all had some experience with the concept of placement. If you imitate the nasal drawl of a hillbilly or the throaty rasp of a lounge singer, you are in fact placing the voice, although not in a desirable way from the point of view of classical or operatic singing. The ability to place the voice when imitating or caricaturing someone is instinctive; children do it without any knowledge of how they are doing it. A trained singer does much the same thing when he places the voice, only not for the purposes of exaggerating particular vocal qualities but to arouse, balance, and integrate different vocal functions.

但究竟什么是“位置”？我们已经知道，喉部包含许多内在肌肉，它们能够对声带的结构产生微妙的变化。喉部还悬挂在一个肌肉吊带内，这个吊带可以从不同方向以各种方式拉动它。唱歌时，我们必须影响这些拉力，才能发出饱满圆润、富有共鸣的音色。我们说话时也会影响这些肌肉，但我们这样做的方式相当无意识，并非为了优化音色。歌手必须能够有意识地调整这些肌肉，才能发出音色丰富、共鸣丰富的歌声。

But what exactly is placement? We’ve seen that the larynx contains a number of intrinsic muscles that are able to produce subtle changes in the configurations of the vocal folds. The larynx is also suspended within a muscular sling that can pull on it from different directions and in various ways. When we sing, we have to affect these pulls in order to produce a fully rounded, resonant tone. We influence these muscles whenever we speak, but we do it in a rather unconscious way and not with the goal of optimizing tone production. A singer must be able to consciously adjust these muscles in order to produce a sung tone rich in timbre and resonant qualities.

然而，与主要受意识控制的张喉肌肉不同，我们无法直接控制这些肌肉，它们只是在我们发出声音或交流的意图下发挥作用。我们能够影响它们的唯一方法是想象它们似乎产生的声音或音质，通常听起来像是以身体特定部位为中心的振动形式。通过试验这些不同形式的振动和共振——我们试图通过要求学生将声音“引导”到与特定振动相关的特定位置来获得所有这些——歌手能够影响并最终控制这些功能——我们称之为“声音定位”。

However, unlike the muscles relating to opening the throat, which are largely under conscious control, we do not have direct control over these muscles, which come into play in response to our intention to make sound or to communicate. The only way we can influence them is by thinking of the resultant sound or quality they seem to produce, heard usually as a form of vibration that centers on a particular part of the body. By experimenting with these different forms of vibration and resonance—all of which we try to get by asking the student to “direct” the sound in a particular location associated with a particular kind of vibration—the singer is able to influence and, eventually, to gain control over these functions—what we call placing the voice.

因此，定位是一种通过尝试重现与喉咙功能相关的振动感觉来唤醒喉咙和咽喉某些功能的方法。我们无法通过有意识或直接控制肌肉来实现这些效果，因此我们通过思考结果来唤醒原因，从而进行逆向思考。这是一个难以捉摸的概念，因为当我们说话时，比如说，把音调放在牙齿上，我们实际上是在影响喉咙的振动动作，而不是振动牙齿。但同样，由于我们无法直接影响喉咙，但可以感知其振动牙齿的效果，因此我们通过暗示结果，然后从结果逆向推导出原因，来获得这一功能。

Placement, then, is a way of arousing certain functions of the larynx and throat by trying to reproduce the vibratory sensations that are associated with these functions. We can’t achieve these effects by consciously or directly controlling muscles, so we work backward by thinking of the effect to awaken the cause. This is an elusive concept, since when we speak, say, of placing the tone on the teeth, we are really affecting the vibratory action of the larynx and not vibrating the teeth. But again, since we cannot directly affect the larynx but can sense its effect in vibrating the teeth, we access this function by suggesting the effect, and then working backward from effect to cause.

隐喻语言

The Language of Metaphor

对于歌手来说，有各种不同的发声位置（图 8-1）和发声方式。例如，如果你想在唱歌时带点鼻音，或者将声音指向嘴前的某个点，这样音调就不会那么气音化，而会更“集中”，这些都是发声方式。教歌唱的诀窍在于找到与他人交流如何实现这些不同音调的方法；通常老师会告诉你将声音瞄准或“引导”到脸、脖子、头部或胸部的某个特定部位。正如我们所见，这种指导不是字面意义上的，而是比喻性的；你不能把音调放在门牙上或头顶上，就像你不能把灯的光照进房间的一个角落一样。然而，尽管这个概念从科学的角度来看可能不准确，但它代表了一个非常具体和可识别的过程，因为它对喉部的功能有直接的影响。在说话时，我们如何发声并不那么重要；在歌唱中，最细微的思绪就能决定是气息虚弱的音调，还是优美清脆的音色。位置的调整，是将歌唱乐器的众多组成部分整合成一个协调的整体；当歌手第一次找到正确的位置时，仿佛音调充满了整个房间，飘荡在空中，声音仿佛并非来自人声，而是来自房间本身。

For a singer, there are various placement points (fig. 8-1) and various ways of placing the voice. If, for instance, you think of singing with a kind of nasal quality, or direct the sound to a point in front of the mouth so that the tone becomes less breathy and more “focused,” these are forms of placement. The trick in teaching singing is to find ways of communicating to another person how to achieve these different qualities; usually teachers do it by telling you to aim or “direct” the sound into a particular part of the face, neck, head, or chest. This type of instruction, as we’ve seen, is not literal but metaphorical; you can no more place the tone on your front teeth or into the top of your head than you can shine the light from a lamp into one corner of a room. Inaccurate as the concept may be from a scientific point of view, however, it represents a very concrete and identifiable process, since it has a direct and immediate impact on how the larynx functions. In speaking, how we place the voice is not so important; in singing, the most subtle thought can make the crucial difference between a breathy, weak tone and a beautiful, ringing sound. Placement is the fine-tuning that brings many of the components of a singing instrument into a well-coordinated whole; when a singer finds the correct placement for the first time, it is as if the tone fills the room and floats on the air, the sound seeming to come not from the voice but from the room itself.

大量的科学研究致力于解释喉部如何工作以及歌手如何能够发出如此令人印象深刻的声音。讽刺的是，对发声功能的具体科学解释在歌唱家日常实际的发声训练中应用有限；优秀的声乐老师往往能够捕捉到即使是最精密的科学仪器也无法捕捉到的音质。声乐训练的隐喻性语言也难以通过科学检验。然而，对于使用它的人来说，它却非常真实——一种与协调和激活声乐艺术潜在元素的能力相联系的艺术家语言。1

A great deal of scientific research has focused on explaining how the larynx works and how singers are able to produce such impressive sounds. Ironically, the concrete scientific explanations of vocal function have limited application in the practical day-to-day training of a singer’s voice; a good voice teacher is often able to hear qualities that even the most sophisticated scientific instruments cannot pick up. The metaphorical language of vocal training is also difficult to test scientifically. It is, nevertheless, very real to those who use it—a kind of artist’s language that connects with the ability to coordinate and activate latent elements of vocal artistry.1

位置和面

Placement and the Face

很多声乐老师都以各种形式强调定位声音的另一个关键要素，那就是使眼睛明亮并锻炼面部肌肉。在很多新手看来，这似乎没有必要，甚至很愚蠢。但这些肌肉对声音至关重要，原因有二。首先，考虑面部肌肉对喉部肌肉有非常明确的影响。比如，如果你冷笑，这会影响上颚肌肉，从而使声音中带出更多的鼻音。使眼睛明亮也是如此，这往往会激活支撑喉部的悬韧带肌肉。因此，“控制”面部肌肉可能看起来很模糊，与声音无关，但实际上它对喉部及其功能有非常具体的影响。

Another key element in placing the voice, stressed in one form or another by many singing teachers, is brightening the eyes and toning the facial muscles. This appears to many novices as rather unnecessary and even silly. But these muscles are crucial to the voice for two reasons. First, thinking about the facial muscles has a very definite effect on the muscles of the larynx. If, for example, you sneer, this affects the palate muscles and therefore brings out more nasality in the voice. This is also true of brightening the eyes, which tends to activate the suspensory muscles supporting the larynx. “Directing” the facial muscles, then, may seem vague and unrelated to the voice, but it actually has a very concrete effect on the larynx and how it functions.

其次，喉部悬吊肌的萎缩通常与说话沙哑、情感缺失和消极的心态有关。思考面部肌肉会反射性地增强能量，并倾向于激活喉部悬吊肌并打开喉咙，这通常会显著提高声音的能量和音质。我们将在第11章讨论如何产生持续的呼气时，进一步讨论如何使眼睛和面部肌肉明亮起来。

Second, the collapse of the suspensory muscles of the throat is often connected with throaty speech, a loss of affect, and a negative mental attitude. Thinking of the facial muscles is reflexively connected with a heightening of energy and tends to activate the suspensory muscles of the larynx and open the throat, often dramatically improving the energy and quality of the tone. We’ll talk more about brightening the eyes and facial muscles in Chapter 11, when we look at producing a sustained exhalation.

安置及其影响

Placement and Its Effects

位置会影响发声器官的各个方面。当声音位置合适时，声带振动更有效，各种悬吊肌会更积极地发挥作用。通过哼唱或将声音置于头顶来产生鼻音往往会激活上颚；将声音置于前方往往会集中音调；将声音置于胸前往往会释放声带本身。

Placement affects all aspects of the vocal organ. When the voice is well placed, the vocal folds vibrate more efficiently, and the various suspensory muscles are more actively brought into play. Producing nasality by humming or placing the voice at the top of the head tends to activate the palate; forward placement tends to focus the tone; chest placement tends to free the vocal cords themselves.

声乐老师在发声时寻找的关键要素之一是“响声”或“砰砰”的音质，这表明喉部得到了悬吊肌的支撑。这种“响声”听起来像是音调的明亮，与高音区的激活或假声的支撑相关，更容易转化为头声；当歌手在低音区演唱时能够保持这种音质时，胸腔共鸣的喉音就会变得不那么沙哑，说话的声音也会变得轻快，喉咙肌肉也会随之放松。

One of the key elements voice teachers look for in placing the voice is a kind of “ring” or pinging quality, which signifies that the larynx is being supported by the suspensory muscles. This ring can be heard as a brightening of the tone and is associated with an activated upper register or supported falsetto that can be more easily turned into a head voice; when the singer is able to maintain this quality while singing in the lower range, the chest voice becomes less throaty, the speaking voice is lightened up, and the throat muscles tend to open up and relax.

发声位置也会影响呼吸和支撑。由于喉部会反射性地与呼吸协调，因此合理的发声位置往往会带来更好的支撑。例如，如果你集中音调或通过哼唱打开喉咙，这通常会立即对呼吸支撑产生效果，使维持音调看起来更容易。正如 Husler 所说：“功能正常的喉部能够（通过耳朵）高度调节和训练歌唱所需的呼吸肌。用歌手的话来说：声音必须‘位置恰当’，才能‘得到良好的支撑’。” 2

Placement also affects breathing and support. Because the larynx reflexively coordinates with breathing, placing the voice tends to bring about better support. For instance, if you focus the tone or open the throat by humming, this will often have an immediate effect on breath support, making it seem easier to sustain the tone. As Husler put it, “a properly functioning larynx regulates and trains to a high degree (by means of the ear) the respiratory muscles needed in singing. In singer’s language: the voice must be ‘well-placed,’ if it is be to be ‘well-supported.’”2

因此，放置位置会影响喉咙和共鸣器的状况 - 不是因为人们直接控制喉部或喉咙，而是因为（a）喉部振动得更有效率；（b）悬韧带肌肉发挥作用并协助喉部的振动动作；（c）喉咙更好地适应喉部振动的频率并更有效地作为共鸣器发挥作用。

Placement, then, affects the condition of the throat and the resonators—not because one is directly controlling the larynx or the throat but because (a) the larynx vibrates more efficiently; (b) the suspensory muscles are brought into play and assist the vibratory action of the larynx; and (c) the throat is tuned better to the frequency of the vibrations from the larynx and functions more effectively as a resonator.

共振与定位

Resonance and Placement

由于发声位置与身体特定部位的振动有关，许多歌手认为他们实际上是在与发声部位产生共鸣。然而，正如我们之前所见，只有喉咙和口腔才是真正发挥作用的。共鸣器；其他区域，例如胸部或上颚，实际上并不会产生共鸣。然而，这些区域确实起到了感知点的作用，使我们能够影响发声功能。将声音“置于”上颚并不会真正产生新的共鸣，但它是一种激活与特定肌肉功能和感觉区域相关的运动知觉和触觉的方式；这反过来又会激发喉部和咽喉的特定功能。

Because placement is associated with vibrations in specific parts of the body, many singers believe they are actually resonating the parts of the body where the voice is being directed. As we saw earlier, however, only the throat and oral cavity actually serve as resonators; other areas, such as the chest or palate, do not actually resonate. These areas do, however, function as points of awareness that enable us to influence vocal function. “Placing” the voice on the palate will not actually create a new resonance, but it is a way of activating the kinesthetic and tactile senses associated with particular muscular functions and sensory regions; this in turn arouses particular functions in the larynx and throat.

因此，声部定位并非关乎共鸣本身，而是关乎激活喉部及其支撑肌肉的功能——这是一个思维过程，构成了声乐教学的核心技能之一。由于这些特质难以捉摸，有时更容易被外部听众察觉，因此学习如何定位声音通常需要声乐教练的帮助，教练的聆听能力训练有素，能够为学生提供他们自己无法提供的反馈。

Placement, then, isn’t about resonance per se but about activating the functioning of the larynx and its supporting muscles—a thinking process that forms one of the central skills in vocal pedagogy. Because these qualities are elusive and can sometimes be more easily heard by an outside listener, learning how to place the voice often requires the help of a vocal coach whose powers of listening are highly trained and who can give the student feedback she cannot provide for herself.

摆放位置和我们的直立设计

Placement and Our Upright Design

通过学习发声位置可以相对轻松地立即改变发声功能，因此许多歌手将发声位置的艺术与良好的发声技巧等同起来。然而，在功能完美的乐器中，发声位置已经确定，即其功能达到平衡，因此无需使用特定的发声位置概念来影响特定功能。这是因为当肌肉支架积极支撑喉部且喉部自由悬挂在此网络中时（即，当躯干伸长、头部在脊柱上自由平衡、喉咙自由悬挂于头骨上时），发声效果往往更好。发声位置中最关键的要素是特定功能所依赖的更大系统的协调运作。

Because it is relatively easy to make immediate changes in vocal function by learning to place the voice, many singers equate the art of placement with good vocal use. In a perfectly functioning instrument, however, the voice already is placed—that is, its functions are balanced so that one does not need to affect specific functions by using particular placement concepts. This is because the voice tends to work better when the muscular scaffolding is actively supporting the larynx and the larynx is freely suspended within this network—that is, when the trunk is lengthening, the head is freely balanced on the spine, and the throat is freely suspended from the skull. The most crucial element in placement is the coordinated working of the larger system that the specific functions depend on.

恢复自然系统

Restoring the Natural System

我们在本书中看到，发声器官并不是局部的，而是一个由头部和躯干的关系组织起来的整体系统的一部分，并在这个背景下得到弹性支持对抗喉部和躯干的肌肉（图9-1）。虽然最明显的发声误用涉及喉咙和喉部，但我们首先必须明白，发声误用总是会干扰这个更大的系统。例如，如果你观察一位典型的摇滚歌手对着麦克风唱歌，你会发现，虽然他在唱歌时喉咙会收紧，但这实际上是颈部肌肉更广泛紧张模式的一部分，颈部肌肉收紧，导致头部被强行向后拉；胸部，收缩塌陷；以及整个躯干（图9-2）。说话习惯通常比这更微妙，但大多数人说话时会误用声音，就像摇滚歌手一样，只是方式不那么夸张。1

We’ve seen throughout this book that the vocal organ is not localized but is part of a total system organized by the relationship of the head and trunk and is supported elastically within this context by muscles that act antagonistically on the larynx and trunk (fig. 9-1). Although at the most obvious level vocal misuse involves the throat and larynx, we must understand first of all that misuse of the voice always involves interference with this larger system. If, for instance, you observe a typical rock-and-roll singer at a microphone, you’ll see that, although he tightens the throat while singing, this is in fact part of a larger pattern of tension involving the neck muscles, which tighten so that the head is forcibly pulled back; the chest, which is constricted and collapsed; and the entire trunk (fig. 9-2). Speaking habits are often more subtle than this, but most people misuse the voice while speaking in much the same way as the rock and roll singer, except in a less exaggerated way.1

由于发声需要收紧颈部肌肉、挺胸抬头、收紧肋骨以及收紧并收缩喉咙，因此恢复正常发声的唯一方法是将身体置于支撑位置，使这些肌肉能够放松并恢复弹性，从而再次拮抗性地支撑发声结构。这可以通过半仰卧位，将书本放在头下（图9-3），或者将自己置于一个有利于机械运动的位置，使身体各部分相互远离，从而肌肉可以恢复弹性（图9-4）。这样做时，颈部肌肉会放松，背部肌肉会变得更有弹性，肋骨会自由活动，喉咙也会放松。通过想象身体各部分相互对抗，习惯性收缩的肌肉可以放松，从而建立背部、躯干和腿部肌肉的弹性，这是真正支撑发声器官的基础。

Since vocalization involves tightening the neck muscles, raising the chest, fixing the ribs, and tightening and collapsing the throat, the only way to restore the proper working of the voice is to place the body in a supported position that enables these muscles to let go and to regain elasticity so that the muscles can again antagonistically support the vocal structures. This can be done by lying down in a semi-supine position with books under the head (fig. 9-3), or by placing yourself in a position of mechanical advantage in which the body parts are encouraged to move away from each other so that the muscles can regain elasticity (fig. 9-4). When one does this, the neck muscles release, the back muscles become more elastic and the ribs move freely, and the throat releases. By thinking of body parts working oppositionally, muscles that are habitually shortened can let go, establishing the muscular elasticity of the back, trunk, and legs that is the basis for true support of the vocal instrument.

值得一提的是，这个过程需要时间，切勿操之过急。将文字写在纸上很容易，但要表达文字的意义以及文字背后的经验却难得多。同样值得一提的是，通过学习感知头部/躯干的关系并增强支撑身体整体的肌肉弹性来恢复发声系统是这个过程中最关键的一步，因为它是所有后续步骤（包括此处之后的步骤）的基础。

It is important to mention that this process takes time and should not be rushed. It is easy to put words on the printed page, but much harder to express how significant they are and what experiences lay behind the words. It is also important to mention that restoring the vocal system by learning to become aware of the head/trunk relationship and encouraging elasticity in the muscles supporting the body as a whole is the most crucial step in this process because it is the foundation for all subsequent steps, including those that follow here.

防止滥用模式

Preventing the Pattern of Misuse

一旦你开始恢复系统，下一步就是看看你是否能在不引发有害的紧张模式的情况下发声。一个非常有用的方法是半仰卧说几句话，然后注意你的头部和躯干发生了什么。你是否把头往后仰、收紧胸部或弓起背部？起初，你可能没有意识到这些有害的习惯，但经过一段时间的尝试，你可能会开始意识到自己在做不必要的努力。通过实验和探索，你会发现，可以大大减少减少努力，并在此过程中开始防止发声时对肌肉系统产生不必要的干扰。

Once you have begun to restore the system, the next step is to see if you can vocalize without invoking the harmful pattern of tension. One very useful way to do this is to speak a few words while lying in the semi-supine position and then to notice what happens to your head and trunk. Did you pull your head back, tighten your chest, or arch your back? At first, you may not detect any of these harmful habits, but after experimenting a bit, you may begin to sense that you are using unnecessary effort. Through experimentation and exploration, you’ll find that it is possible to use much less effort and, in the process, to begin to prevent this unnecessary interference with the muscular system while vocalizing.

也要注意你讲完一两句话后会发生什么。你可能会发现你的背部弓起，可以放松下来，或者你收紧了颈部肌肉，并在不知不觉中将头向后仰。当你再次尝试说话时，你或许能够注意到这些倾向，并能够避免它们。虽然以这种方式躺下并非理想的发声姿势，但它很有用，因为背部与地板的接触以及头部与书本的接触，让你有机会观察自己正在做什么来干预和预防这种情况。

Notice also what happens after you have finished speaking a sentence or two. You may find that your back was arched and is able to let go, or that you tightened the muscles of your neck and pulled your head back without realizing you had done so. When you again try speaking, you may be able to notice these tendencies when they actually happen and be able to prevent them. Lying down in this way, although not an ideal position for vocalizing, can be useful because the contact of your back on the floor and your head on the books gives you a chance to see what you are doing to interfere and to prevent it.

尝试过半仰卧发声后，尝试坐着和站着发声。你是否注意到自己在乐句之间有抬头吸气或收紧颈部肌肉的倾向？任何用力的迹象都表明你正在干扰发声机制；学会越来越少地用力是协调、平衡地使用发声系统的关键，也是学会在说话时不费力或避免声音疲劳的关键。

After experimenting in the semi-supine position, try vocalizing while sitting and standing. Do you notice a tendency to raise the chest to take in breath between phrases, or to tighten the neck muscles? Any signs of effort are an indication that you are interfering with the vocal instrument; learning to use less and less effort is the key to using the system in a coordinated, balanced way and to learning to speak without expending unnecessary effort or tiring the voice.

鼻孔

The Nostrils

下一步是学习如何在不影响整体平衡和协调的情况下使用下颌、嘴唇和喉咙的肌肉。由于这些部位的错误使用与说话密切相关，因此试图直接放松这些部位意义不大，因为错误的紧张是整体错误使用模式的一部分，并且会在说话过程中再次出现。作为第一步，我们有必要什么也不做，与其试图直接改善，不如看看是否有可能在不影响头部平衡的情况下，比如说，张开下颌。

The next step is to learn to use the muscles of the jaw, lips, and throat without interfering with the overall balance and coordination of the larger system. Since the wrong use of these parts is closely connected to the act of speaking, trying to relax these parts directly is of little value, since the wrong tensions are part of the larger pattern of misuse and will simply return during the act of speaking. It is necessary, as a first step, to do nothing and, instead of trying to make direct improvements, to see if it is possible to, say, open the jaw without disturbing the balance of the head.

学习这一点的一个非常有用的方法是通过鼻孔自由呼吸。当我们用鼻孔呼吸时，舌头应该自然地在口腔内拱起，这样舌体就会接触硬腭，并封闭口腔中空气的通道，形成口腔密封。当舌头处于这种自然状态时“休息姿势”是指你通过鼻孔自由呼吸，这意味着下巴、嘴唇、舌头和喉咙都不受干扰。有意识地以这种方式觉察呼吸通过鼻孔，可以为你不干扰发声提供一个良好的起点。

One very useful way to learn this is to breathe freely through the nostrils. When we breathe through our nostrils, the tongue should naturally arch in the mouth so that the body of the tongue contacts the hard palate and seals off the passageway of air through the mouth, creating an oral seal. When the tongue is in this natural “resting position” and you are breathing freely through your nostrils, this means that the jaw, lips, tongue, and throat are left alone. Consciously being aware of the breath going through the nostrils in this way thus provides a good starting point for not interfering with the voice.

为了进行实验，请花几分钟时间半仰卧，确保颈部自由活动，头部靠在书本上，背部完全贴着地面。注意呼吸通过鼻孔的进出。当你感觉良好地控制了呼吸系统时，尝试在继续通过鼻孔呼吸的同时，能否张开下颌。张颌当然是言语的要素之一，因此与言语误用的基本模式密切相关；如果你能够张开下颌而不影响头部平衡，也不干扰鼻孔的呼吸，那么你就掌握了协调高效言语的关键要素。

To experiment with this, spend a few minutes lying down in the semi-supine position, making sure that your neck is free, your head is resting on the books, and your back is fully supported on the ground. Notice the breath going in and out through your nostrils. When you’re satisfied that you are leaving the system alone nicely, see if you can open your jaw while continuing to breathe through your nostrils. Opening the jaw is, of course, one of the elements of speech and is therefore closely associated with the basic pattern of misuse; if you can open the jaw without interfering with your head balance and without disturbing the flow of breath in and out of the nostrils, then you have mastered a crucial component of coordinated, efficient speech.

当你能够舒适地移动下巴，且不影响鼻孔的气流时，试着移动舌头、嘴唇和面部肌肉。如果你能做到这一点，并且不影响呼吸和整体肌肉系统，那么你就已经具备了协调说话的能力，并且可以开始在日常说话中运用这种能力。

When you can move your jaw comfortably without interfering with the flow of air through your nostrils, try moving your tongue, lips, and the muscles of your face. If you can do this without interfering with your breathing and with your overall muscular system, you are well on your way to being able to speak in a coordinated fashion and can begin to apply this in everyday speech.

重建言语元素

Reconstructing the Elements of Speech

下一步是尝试发语音。首先，试着发“啊”的音。发音时，舌体必须下沉，让空气从口腔中排出。张开嘴发出这个音，发完后，闭上嘴，让空气从鼻孔吸入。再次发这个音，发到一半时，用舌头形成一个“t”形，这样你就能发出“ta”的音了。闭上嘴，让空气从鼻孔吸入。

The next step is to experiment with forming the sounds of speech. To begin with, try making an “ah” sound. To do this, the body of the tongue must drop to allow air to pass out of the mouth. Open your mouth to produce the sound and, when you have finished, close your mouth and let the air come in through your nostrils. Make the sound again and, halfway through, form a “t” with your tongue, so that you’ll be making the “ta” sound. Close your mouth and let the air come in through your nostrils.

再次发出“ah”的音，然后尝试发出“l”和“m”的音；看看你是否能在不移动下巴的情况下做到这一点。物体就是动动嘴唇，不要动舌头和下巴，也不要干扰呼吸。如果你能发出“k”（用上颚发声）和“s”（用舌头发声），你就已经构成了大部分语音中用到的辅音。

Again form an “ah” sound and then try forming an “l” and “m” sound; see if you can do this without moving your jaw. The object is to move your lips without moving your tongue and jaw or interfering with your breathing. If you then form a “k” (which involves your palate), and an “s” (which is formed by the tongue), you will have constructed most of the consonant sounds used in speech.

请注意，通过这些练习，你不是在说完整的单词，而是在一点一点地构建语音元素，直到形成完整的单词。学习像这样构建声音是一种全新的发声学习方法，因为它不是基于特定的练习或能力，而是基于对发声机制的协调和轻松运用。

Notice that, by doing these things, you are not speaking entire words but constructing the elements of speech piece by piece until you have formed whole words. Learning to construct sounds like this is a completely new way to learn to vocalize because it is based not on specific exercises or abilities but on the coordinated and effortless use of the vocal mechanism.

最后，看看你是否可以在说话时不先用嘴吸气——也就是说，不先张开嘴大口喘气。静静地半仰卧，让空气通过鼻孔吸入和呼出。然后张开嘴说一句话，说完后，闭上嘴，让空气通过鼻孔吸入，然后再说下一句话。如果你能在两句话之间不“吸”气就做到这一点，那就试着背诵一首诗，看看每当你开始说一个新短语时，你是否可以闭上嘴，让空气进入鼻孔而不是从嘴里进入。这是一个非常有用的练习，可以防止说话时对呼吸系统和喉咙造成不必要的干扰，并为意识到日常说话中不必要和有害的习惯提供了宝贵的基础或参考点。

Finally, see if you can speak without inhaling through your mouth in preparation—that is, without first opening your mouth and gasping in air. Lying quietly in the semi-supine position, allow the air to flow in and out through your nostrils. Then open your mouth to speak a phrase and, when you have finished, close your mouth and let the air come in through your nostrils before speaking another phrase. If you can do this without “taking” breath between phrases, try reciting a poem and see if, whenever you begin a new phrase, you can close your mouth so that the air enters your nostrils and doesn’t come in through your mouth. This is an invaluable exercise for preventing unnecessary interference with the breathing system and with the throat while speaking, and provides an invaluable foundation or point of reference for becoming aware of unnecessary and harmful habits in normal everyday speech.

防止滥用声音的重要性

The Importance of Preventing Misuse of the Voice

恢复整个系统，并防止发声时对躯干支撑、肋骨运动和喉咙悬吊的干扰，代表了一种新的、根本性的声乐研究方法，因为它基于建立发声系统自然平衡的功能。由于大多数声乐教师没有意识到声音对这个更大系统的依赖，或者将其视为姿势训练而将其忽略，他们往往会忽视其在发声功能中的重要作用。但是，防止这种对发声系统的基本干扰，发声系统带来的益处在于，它能使喉咙结构更加灵活，说话更加轻松高效。长时间说话不再那么累，也能避免因年龄增长而导致的发声能力下降。

Restoring the overall system and preventing interference with the support of the trunk, the movement of the ribs, and the suspension of the throat while vocalizing represent a new and fundamental approach to vocal study, since it is based on establishing a natural and balanced functioning of the vocal system. Because most voice teachers are unaware of the dependence of the voice on this larger system or else dismiss this factor as posture training, they tend to miss its vital role in vocal function. But preventing this basic interference in the vocal system produces wonderful benefits in bringing about greater freedom in the structures of the throat, making it possible to speak with greater ease and efficiency. Speaking for long periods becomes much less tiring; it also becomes possible to use the voice without the deterioration that so often occurs with age.

安静、“自然”的声音也赏心悦目，比刻意制造的声音更容易让人接受。有些歌手费尽心思试图发出声音，让听众听到，却没有意识到自己付出了多少努力，也不知道噪音对听众造成了多大的冲击。简单的说话或唱歌，无需费力，也无需刻意让听众听到，往往就能对听众产生深远的影响。安静、自然的音调更容易打动听众，吸引听众聆听，也体现了对听众的尊重。

A quiet, “left-alone” voice is also aesthetically pleasing to the ear and much easier to listen to than a forced production. Some singers expend so much effort trying to make sound and to be heard that they fail to realize how much effort they are using and how much they are assaulting their listeners with noise. The simple act of speaking or singing without making a lot of unnecessary effort and without trying to be heard often has a profound effect on the listener, who will be more deeply moved and drawn in by a quiet, unforced tone, which invites listening and shows respect for the listener.

建立肌肉系统协调使用的基础

Establishing the Foundations of Coordinated Use of the Muscular System

这是后续步骤的基础，因为我们天生拥有一种自然的构造，而这种构造可能会因不良的姿势习惯、各种活动中身体的误用以及不良的呼吸和说话习惯而受到干扰。因此，实现自然发声的第一步是建立肌肉系统的协调运作，这将成为我们识别不良习惯的背景，也是养成良好习惯的基础。

This is the foundation for the steps that follow, since we possess a natural design that can be interfered with through harmful postural habits, misuse of the body in various activities, and harmful habits of breathing and speech. The first step in achieving natural vocalization, then, is to establish a coordinated working of the muscular system, which becomes a background against which we can perceive harmful habits and a foundation for acquiring good ones.

无需呼吸即可发出声音

Not Taking Breath in Order to Produce Sound

任何学过唱歌或表演，并在表演中使用过嗓音的人都知道，为了获得足够的空气发声，人们几乎无法抗拒吸气的冲动。但这种吸气的冲动代表着呼吸机制的真正紊乱。显然，我们需要空气来说话或唱歌；但思考呼吸（歌手也必须如此）则完全是另一回事。歌手会吸入空气，然后通过缩短和僵硬身体，干扰风箱的发声，将空气排出。换句话说，她所做的任何涉及呼吸或说话的选择和决定——即使她恰好试图不缩短或僵硬身体——实际上都会引发干扰风箱的错误动作。因为对我们大多数人来说，吸气与这些不必要的动作密切相关。和缺陷，对呼吸的关注对于声音使用者来说恰恰是错误的刺激，因为它会引发干扰呼吸所基于的运动的习惯。

Anyone who has studied singing or acting and has used their voice in a performance situation knows that the tendency to take breath as the basis for having enough air to produce sound is almost irresistible. But the tendency to take air in this way represents a true disturbance of the respiratory mechanism. Obviously, we need air to speak or sing; but thinking about breathing (as the singer must) is another matter entirely. The singer then sucks in air and pushes it out by shortening and stiffening herself and interfering with the bellows. In other words, anything she does that involves the choice, the decision, to breathe or speak—even when she happens to be trying not to shorten or stiffen—actually brings into play the wrong movements that interfere with the bellows. Since getting breath is, for most of us, closely associated with such unnecessary movements and defects, concern about breathing is precisely the wrong stimulus for a voice-user because it elicits the very habits that interfere with the movements on which breathing is based.

这就是为什么那些释放或舒缓呼吸的方法，即使表面上看起来有效，却无法解决根本问题。发声练习或许能暂时改善呼吸，或通过某种特定的释放或增加氧气摄入来增强机体活力。但最终，它们只能干扰呼吸过程，因为无论取得何种具体成果，呼吸或练习本身就是一种刺激，它会引发那些扰乱自然呼吸运动的紧张情绪。

This is why methods that free or release the breathing do not address the fundamental problem, even though they appear to. Vocal exercises may temporarily improve the breathing or invigorate the organism by getting some particular release or by increasing the oxygen intake. But ultimately they can only interfere with the process, because whatever specific results are achieved, the very act of breathing or performing an exercise is itself a stimulus that brings into play the very tensions that disturb the natural movements of breathing.

那么，我们该如何避免这种习惯呢？我们在第二章中看到，呼吸的进出是胸腔空间变化的结果，而这些动作的自由又取决于身体的整体协调性。换句话说，正是身体各部分的协调工作使得呼吸能够自然而然地进行。因此，我们唱歌所需的气息已经在我们的肺部进出，理解这一点是避免换气习惯的关键。你不需要“做”任何事情来让空气进入肺部；如果你只是注意呼吸所依赖的整体条件，它就会以最有效的方式自行进出。

How then do we prevent this habit? We saw in Chapter 2 that the flow of breath in and out of the body is a result of the changing volume of space within the chest, and that the freedom of these movements depends, in turn, on the overall coordination of the body. It is the coordinated working of the parts of the body, in other words, that permits breathing to take place naturally and automatically. The breath we need for singing, then, is already flowing in and out of our lungs, and understanding this is the key to preventing the habit of taking breath. You do not have to “do” anything to get air into the lungs; it will come in and out by itself in the most efficient manner possible if you simply attend to the overall conditions on which breathing depends.

尽管如此，许多歌手在被要求在准备唱歌时不要换气时，会坚持认为唱歌需要换气。他们当然忘记了唱歌所需的气息会进出肺部，而且无论他们是否换气，这都会持续进行。因此，最好不要换气，因为刻意换气只会干扰自然过程。对于嗓音使用者来说，理智地理解这一概念是克服根深蒂固的换气观念的基础，这一点至关重要。

In spite of this fact, many singers, when asked to refrain from taking a breath in preparation to sing, will insist that they need breath to sing. They are, of course, forgetting that the breath needed for singing comes into and out of their lungs, and will continue to do so, whether they take it or not. Better, then, not to take it, since deliberately taking breath only interferes with nature’s process. It is absolutely essential for the voice-user to grasp this concept intellectually as the basis for overcoming the ingrained belief in the need to take breath.

控制呼气

Controlled Exhalation

实现可控的呼气或呼气稍微复杂一些。当我们正常呼吸时，气息往往会快速涌出；因此，仅仅让气息自然地流动并不能解决如何控制呼气的问题。为了做到这一点，我们必须想象一种声音，例如从嘴唇吹气、从牙齿发出嘶嘶声或低语，这种声音可以延长呼气时间，无需费力，只需通过自然地协调呼吸和发出声音的意图即可。

Achieving a controlled outflow, or exhalation, is slightly more involved. When we breathe normally, the breath will tend to rush out quickly; simply leaving the breath alone, then, will not solve the problem of how to exhale in a controlled way. In order to do this, we have to think of a sound, such as blowing through the lips, hissing through the teeth, or whispering, that will prolong the out-breath, not with effort but simply through the natural process of coordinating breathing with our intention to make the sound.

学习这个过程是实现自然顺畅呼吸的关键。通过控制呼气，我们不会在呼气时压塌肋骨并缩短肋骨；这使得肋骨在下一次吸气时更容易放松和打开。而且，由于控制呼气专注于呼气，它会将我们的注意力从吸气上转移开，从而使肋骨放松，横膈膜在我们呼气时完全上升——换句话说，它让我们不再屏住呼吸。简而言之，控制呼气为我们提供了一种再教育程序，以防止屏住呼吸和缩短肋骨和横膈膜的自由运动，从而使我们能够实现更顺畅的呼吸。

Learning this process is the key to achieving a natural and unimpeded flow of breath. By controlling the exhalation, we don’t collapse the ribs and shorten during the exhalation; this allows the ribs to release and open more easily on the next inhalation. And because the controlled exhalation is focused on the exhalation, it directs our attention away from taking air in, which allows the ribs to let go and the diaphragm fully to ascend while we breathe out—in other words, it allows us to stop holding our breath. In short, the controlled exhalation gives us a reeducational procedure for preventing the holding of the breath and the shortening that interfere with the free movement of ribs and diaphragm, and therefore enables us to achieve a freer flow of breath.

进行一系列受控的呼气练习有两个好处。首先，它可以减轻压力，因为它可以逆转屏住呼吸的倾向，而屏住呼吸是压力反应的一部分——大多数放松和减压方法都无法做到这一点，因为它们只是让受试者放松，而没有真正解决与屏住呼吸相关的肋骨和横膈膜的有害状况。为了减轻压力，停止屏住呼吸比试图通过直接的方式放松更为重要。

Performing a series of controlled exhalations is beneficial for two reasons. First, it lowers stress because it reverses the tendency to hold the breath, which is part of the stress response—something that most relaxation and stress-reduction methods fail to do because they relax the subject without actually addressing the harmful conditions of the ribs and diaphragm associated with holding the breath. To reduce stress, it is more important to stop holding the breath than to attempt to relax by direct means.

其次，恢复肋骨的柔韧性并放松横膈膜可以增加潮气量，从而有助于血液充氧。它还能降低胸腔内压并增加腹腔内压，从而改善血液循环，促进氧气吸收和二氧化碳排出。这种效果是其他呼吸方法无法达到的。专注于吸气或强制呼气，因为这会扭曲肋骨和横膈膜并干扰呼吸所依赖的自然协调。

Second, restoring the flexibility of the ribs and relaxing the diaphragm increases the tidal flow or air and thus helps to oxygenate the blood. It also lowers the intrathoracic pressure and increases intra-abdominal pressure, which improves blood circulation and encourages greater absorption of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide. Such a result cannot be achieved by breathing methods that focus on inhalation or on forced exhalation, since this distorts the ribs and diaphragm and interferes with the natural coordinations on which breathing depends.

支持的声音制作

Supported Sound Production

然而，控制呼气的再教育意义只是其目的的一部分。下一步是发出一个支撑性音调，并调动喉部悬吊肌。大多数发声者（尤其是那些缺乏发声训练的人）在发声时，自然倾向于发出沉重、“无支撑”的音调。为了解决这个问题，必须激活声音——也就是说，喉咙必须打开，声音必须轻盈且“有支撑”，喉咙不能被压低或沉重。实现这一点的一种方法是演奏更高的声音，看看能否将其带入胸腔音区，同时又不失轻盈的音质——也就是说，喉咙不会“下沉”或塌陷。另一种方法，也是学习如何控制呼气的一部分，我们将在下一章讨论，是激活面部肌肉，这往往会打开喉咙并激活喉部悬吊肌。

The reeducational aspect of a controlled exhalation, however, is only part of its purpose. The next step is to produce a supported tone that engages the suspensory muscles of the larynx. When producing sound, the natural tendency for most voice-users—particularly those with little voice training—is to produce a heavy, “unsupported” tone. To counter this, the voice must be activated—that is, the throat must be open, the sound must be light and “supported,” and the throat must not be depressed or heavy. One way to achieve this is to play with a higher sound and to see if this can be brought into the chest register without losing the quality of lightness—that is, without “dropping” or collapsing in the throat. Another way, which is also part of learning how to control the exhalation and which we’ll discuss in the next chapter, is to brighten the facial muscles, which tends to open the throat and to activate the suspensory muscles of the larynx.

产生声音

Producing Sound

最后一个问题是使声带近似，即将声带收拢以便发声，但又不至于引发与说话或唱歌相关的错误习惯。如果我们通过思考发声来收拢声带，那么与唱歌或说话的联系必然会引发干扰自然发声的有害模式。因此，有必要使声带近似，但要以一种与正常说话或唱歌无关的方式。耳语就是这样一种行为。当我们耳语时，我们会呼气发声，但会以一种可控的方式，不会引起发声时通常出现的缩短和收缩的倾向；我们也会使用声带，但不会触发那些与正常发声相关的习惯。与日常言语相关。这距离真正发声只有一小步——也就是说，通过想象发声而不是低声说话来完全闭合声带。我们只需 (1) 思考我们的协调性，(2) 想象一个声音，就能掌握自然而轻松地发出声音所需的要素。在接下来的两章中，我们将探讨如何控制低声呼气（有时也称为低声“啊”），以及如何将其应用于发声。

The final problem is to approximate the vocal folds—that is, to bring the vocal folds together so that vocalizing can take place—but without invoking the wrong habits associated with speech or singing. If we bring the vocal folds together by thinking of producing sound, the association with singing or speech will inevitably bring into play the harmful patterns that interfere with natural vocalization. It is necessary, therefore, to approximate the vocal folds, but in a way that is not associated with normal speech or singing. Whispering is just such an action. When we whisper, we exhale air to produce sound, but in a controlled way that doesn’t elicit the usual tendency to shorten and constrict during vocalization; and we engage the vocal folds, but in a way that does not trigger the habits associated with ordinary speech. It is then only one small step to actually vocalizing—that is, fully closing the vocal folds by thinking of a vocalized sound instead of a whispered sound. Without having to do anything more than (1) think about our coordination and (2) think of a sound, we then have in our command the elements required to produce sound naturally and effortlessly. In the next two chapters, we’ll examine how to produce a controlled whispered exhalation—or whispered “ah” as it sometimes called—and how to apply it to sound production.

总而言之，实现协调发声的必要要素是：

To summarize, the essential elements in achieving coordinated vocalizing are:

1. 1. 控制肌肉的协调，确保呼吸充分、自由；
2. 1. commanding the muscular coordinations that ensure full and free breathing;
3. 2. 认识到由于说话、唱歌或呼吸而产生的有害习惯；
4. 2. recognizing the harmful habits that come into play as a result of the decision to speak, sing, or get breath;
5. 3. 认识到清楚了解控制呼吸的气压原理的重要性，以克服我们需要吸入空气才能发声的观念；
6. 3. recognition of the importance of a clear conception of the principles of air pressure that govern breathing, in order to overcome the belief that we need to get air in order to vocalize;
7. 4. 学习控制呼气，以便在呼气时协调使用躯干、背部和肋骨；
8. 4. learning to control the exhalation in order to achieve coordinated use of the torso, back, and ribs while exhaling; and
9. 5. 学习用协调的方式发出低声的“啊”的声音。
10. 5. learning to perform the whispered “ah” as a means of vocalizing in a coordinated way.

当我们能够根据这些原理发出低声的“啊”的声音时，我们将能够在对身体固有设计的清晰理解的基础上，自然而轻松地发出声音。

When we are able to produce a whispered “ah” based on these principles, we will be able to produce sound naturally and effortlessly, based on a clear understanding of the body’s inherent design.

面部和喉咙

Face and Throat

虽然控制呼气似乎主要与呼吸有关，但实际上它与面部和喉咙密切相关，原因如下。首先，面部和喉咙肌肉的张力直接影响发声。随着时间的推移，许多发声者会变得喉咙发哑或出现其他发声问题；为了更好地发声，必须“定位”声音，以免过度使用喉咙。对许多歌手来说，定位声音已成为他们的第二天性，即使在说话时，他们也能保持轻盈的声音和张开的喉咙。

Although controlling the exhalation seems to be primarily about breathing, it is in fact intimately connected with the face and throat for several reasons. First, vocal production is directly influenced by the tone of the facial and throat muscles. Over time, many voice-users become throaty or develop other vocal problems; to use the voice well, the sound must be “placed” so that we don’t overuse the throat. Placing the voice well, for many singers, becomes second nature so that, even while speaking, they keep their voices light and their throats open.

其次，我们经常在张嘴睡觉、趴在电脑前、坐在沙发上以及说话时喉咙和上颚塌陷。通过关注面部和喉咙，我们有助于维持喉咙和整个发声机制的肌肉支撑和张力。这变得对于许多受过训练的歌手来说，唱歌是他们的第二天性，他们往往在年老时仍能保持喉咙和面部肌肉健康和年轻的音调。

Second, we often collapse the throat and palate while sleeping with the mouth open, slumping in front of a computer, sitting on the couch, and speaking in a throaty, collapsed way. By thinking of the face and throat, we help to maintain the muscular support and tone of the throat and vocal mechanism as a whole. This becomes second nature in many trained singers, who tend to maintain healthy and youthful tone in the throat and facial muscles well into old age.

我们运用喉咙和面部肌肉的方式也与精神状态直接相关。随着年龄的增长，许多人会变得越来越严肃和焦虑，这通常意味着精力的流失或喉咙和发声器官的萎缩。当我们感到忧虑或心事重重、被电脑屏幕催眠，或者只是一脸严肃时，我们就会皱眉、眯眼、眼神变得“冷峻”，而且我们说话时也倾向于用喉咙发声。为了更好地运用声音，保持积极的精神状态非常重要，这样才能克服皱眉和过于严肃的倾向。通过让面部和眼睛明亮起来，我们可以扭转这种倾向，并极大地改善我们的情绪和精神状态——通常只需几分钟。通过练习，我们可以学会识别与喉咙和面部肌肉的使用相关的习惯性情绪和情感状态。

The way we use our throat and facial muscles is also directly related to mental attitude. Many people become increasingly serious and worried with age, which often signifies a loss of energy or collapse of the throat and vocal organ. When we become worried or preoccupied, hypnotized by a computer screen, or just plain serious, we frown, squint, and “harden” the eyes, and we tend to use the voice in a throaty manner. To use the voice well, it is important to maintain a positive mental attitude in order to counter the tendency of frowning and being too serious. By brightening the face and eyes, we can reverse this tendency and greatly improve our mood and mental attitude—often in a matter of minutes. With practice, we can learn to identify habitual moods and emotional states that are connected with the use of the throat and facial muscles.

思考面部和眼睛并不难，方法有很多。首先，可以简单地想象柔化或提亮眼睛，这往往会增强眼周肌肉的张力。想象一些有趣的事情也很有用，只要你不强迫自己微笑，因为强迫微笑会使上扬嘴唇的肌肉僵硬。真正的微笑源于眼神，而想象一些幽默或感人的事情，或者进行眼神交流，更容易自然地激发微笑，从而柔化眼神。

It is not difficult to think of the face and eyes, and this can be done in a number of ways. First, one can think simply of softening or brightening the eyes, which will tend to tone up the muscles around the eyes. Thinking of something funny is also useful as long as you don’t force the smile, which tends to stiffen the muscles that raise the lips; a true smile comes from the eyes and is more naturally stimulated by thinking of something humorous or touching, or by making eye contact, which softens the eyes.

锻炼面颊肌肉对于良好的发声能力也至关重要。将指尖放在颧骨上，微笑；注意脸颊是如何收缩的。如果我们笑容不足，或者经常处于抑郁状态，这个区域有时会失去张力，变得麻木。通过抬高脸颊、提亮眼睛，我们可以增强这些肌肉的敏感度和张力，从而帮助“提升”面部。经验丰富的歌手通常在这方面非常熟练，即使在老年也能保持健康的面部肌肉张力和年轻的容颜。

Toning the cheek muscles is also crucial to good vocal use. Place your fingertips on your cheekbones and smile; notice how the cheeks bunch up. If we do not smile enough or are in a habitually depressed mood, this area sometimes loses tone and becomes deadened. By raising the cheeks and brightening the eyes, we can sensitize and tone these muscles, which helps to “lift” the face. Experienced singers are often very practiced at this and maintain healthy muscle tone and youthfulness in the face well into old age.

当你想要提亮眼睛、紧致脸颊时，记住不要抬起眉毛，并收紧额头肌肉。这乍一看可能很难，但如果你在练习时将手掌放在额头上，这种触觉接触会让你您可以立即获得有关您正在做的事情的反馈，并更容易放松前额肌肉。

When thinking of brightening the eyes and toning the cheeks, remember not to raise the eyebrows and tighten the forehead muscles. This may seem difficult at first, but if you place your palm on your forehead while doing the exercise, this tactile contact will give you immediate feedback about what you are doing and make it easier to leave the forehead muscles relaxed.

锻炼面颊肌肉也能激活鼻孔和“打嗝”肌肉。虽然唱歌时你不会主动打嗝或扩张鼻孔，但尝试一下这些动作来激活肌肉并打开喉咙还是很有帮助的。慢慢地吸气，就像在享受玫瑰的芬芳一样，也能激活和活跃鼻孔；把一株辛辣的药草放在鼻孔下，轻轻地吸入香味，也能起到同样的效果。

Toning the cheek muscles also tends to activate the nostrils and the “sneering” muscles. Although you do not want to actively sneer or dilate the nostrils while singing, it is useful to experiment with these movements as a way of activating the muscles and opening the throat. Sniffing air very slowly, as if you are enjoying the fragrant smell of a rose, also activates and enlivens the nostrils, as does holding a pungent herb beneath your nostrils and gently taking in the odor.

学习如何打开喉咙对于发声也至关重要。如果你哼唱，然后张开嘴，保持哼唱的音调不变，你会发现喉咙会比张嘴唱歌时更加“开放”，上颚也会更加拱起或抬起。粗略地说，这就是“打开喉咙”的意思，这也是为什么许多歌手会通过哼唱来热身。

Learning how to open the throat is also crucial to vocalizing. If you hum and then open your mouth without changing the hum, you will find that the throat is more “open” and the palate more arched or raised than if you sing with the mouth open. In a very crude sense, this is what is meant by an open throat, and it’s why many singers warm up the voice by humming.

另一种打开喉咙的方式是打哈欠。打哈欠会使上颚抬起并拱起，这也是自然伸展和锻炼喉咙的方式。我们可以看到，猫咪从午睡中醒来后，会通过打哈欠来伸展和锻炼喉咙肌肉。由于我们的喉咙往往会习惯性地收缩，所以尝试打哈欠会很有帮助。但是，打哈欠不应该用力或过度，而应该顺其自然。

Another way of opening the throat is by yawning. Yawning tends to raise and arch the palate; it is also nature’s way of stretching and toning the throat. We can see this when cats wake up from a nap and stretch and tone the throat muscles by yawning. Because our throats tend to become habitually constricted, it is useful to experiment with yawning. However, the yawn should not be forced or overdone but should be allowed to come naturally.

另一种打开喉咙的方式是用充满激情或“浮夸”的风格唱歌，这自然会打开喉咙。我们很多人在发声方面有所限制，不太习惯用这种方式唱歌；尝试用一种傻傻的、俏皮的方式发声，或者假装自己是别人，会有所帮助。

Another way to open the throat is to sing in a passionate or “pompous” style, which naturally tends to open the throat. Many of us are inhibited in the use of our voices and do not feel comfortable singing in this way; it helps to experiment with vocalizing in a silly or playful manner, or to pretend you are someone else.

最后，聆听歌手和嗓音使用者开放喉咙的演唱也很有帮助。聆听优秀的歌剧和古典音乐演唱，可以让“耳朵”更好地适应良好的嗓音运用，更容易区分自由开放的嗓音演唱和封闭紧张的嗓音演唱。

Finally, it is useful to listen to singers and voice-users who sing with an open throat. Hearing good operatic and classical singing attunes the “ear” to good vocal use and makes it easier to distinguish free and open-throated singing from closed and strained vocal use.

熟悉上述练习后，尝试一下它们如何影响声调会很有帮助。许多人说话时喉音很重，这与严肃或焦虑；通过练习，你很容易就能识别这些表情，并通过思考眼睛、脸颊和鼻孔来学习掌握更佳的发声位置和声音的“轻盈感”。起初，用这种方式唱歌或说话会让人感到脆弱；但不断尝试会让你更容易，甚至更有乐趣。通过练习，抬起并激活面部和喉咙肌肉可以对声音的质量和表达产生深远而直接的影响。

After becoming familiar with the above exercises, it is useful to experiment with how they affect vocal tone. Many people have a throaty and heavy way of speaking that is connected with being serious or worried; with practice, it becomes easy to identify this and to learn to develop better placement and vocal “lightness” by thinking of the eyes, cheeks, and nostrils. At first, one feels vulnerable when singing or speaking in this way; but experimentation makes it easier and even fun. With practice, lifting and activating the face and throat muscles can have a profound and immediate effect on vocal quality and production.

控制呼气

Controlled Exhalation

现在让我们来谈谈如何进行良好的控制呼气，正如我们所见，这是呼吸支持的真正基础。理解控制呼气的一个简单方法是将其视为不屏住呼吸。如果您举起一个重物或准备说话，您会注意到最初的反应是僵硬并屏住呼吸。如果在您开始屏住呼吸的那一刻停下来并通过嘴唇或牙齿慢慢呼气，那么您就在进行控制呼气。以这种方式控制呼气可以让我们将注意力从屏住呼吸或吸气（这是普遍的倾向）转移到呼气上，也就是说，不要僵硬和屏住呼吸。

Let’s turn now to the process of producing a good controlled exhalation, which as we saw is the true foundation for breath support. A simple way of understanding the controlled exhalation is to think of it in terms of not holding the breath. If you lift a heavy object or prepare to speak, you’ll notice that the initial response is to stiffen and hold the breath. If, at the moment you begin to hold the breath, you stop and let the breath out slowly through your lips or teeth, you are performing a controlled exhalation. Controlling the exhalation in this way allows us to shift our attention away from holding or taking breath (which is the universal tendency), and instead to focus on letting the breath out—which is to say, on not stiffening and holding the breath.

通过这种方式，控制呼气可以简单直观地体验，无需过多技术性或复杂化。大多数学生都能直接理解不屏住呼吸、缓慢呼气以轻柔释放肋骨的概念；伴随这种释放而来的平静也是一种令人愉悦的体验，很容易体验和欣赏。

Performed in this way, the controlled exhalation can be experienced in a simple and intuitively direct way that does not become unnecessarily technical or complicated. Most students can directly relate to the concept of not holding the breath, of letting the breath out slowly as a way of gently freeing the ribs; the calming down that accompanies this release is also a pleasurable component that is easy to experience and appreciate.

控制呼气的方法有很多种：用嘴唇吹气、用牙齿发出嘶嘶声、用鼻孔缓慢呼气（就像发“ng”的音一样），以及低声细语。作为一种再教育方法，以上任何一种方法都可以；用嘴唇吹气在很多方面都是最容易掌握、最简单的，因为它不需要用到喉咙，而且学生很容易理解。

There are several ways of performing a controlled exhalation: blowing through the lips, hissing through the teeth, breathing out slowly through the nostrils (as if you were making an “ng” sound), and whispering. As a reeducational procedure, any of these will work; blowing through the lips is in many ways the most accessible and least complicated, since it doesn’t involve the throat and is easily appreciated by students.

进行控制呼气时，至关重要的是不要以任何方式操纵呼吸。在进行一系列控制呼气时，以这种方式思考呼吸会让许多学生从吸气开始，然后在随后的吸气过程中，深长缓慢地吸气，为下一次呼气做准备。然而，以这种方式缓慢吸气是一种“做”，它意味着我们已经潜意识地专注于呼吸——这正是我们试图避免的事情。只有当我们诚实地认识到我们开始吸气，在检测到这种吸气的愿望时停止，并通过允许正常的呼吸节奏发生，只关注呼气而不是吸气时，才能进行真正的控制呼气。当我们这样做时，空气会相对较快地吸入，而不是缓慢地吸入。

It is crucial when performing a controlled exhalation not to manipulate the breathing in any way. When performing a series of controlled exhalations, the act of thinking about breathing in this way makes many students begin by taking the breath and then, during subsequent inhalations, to take a long slow breath in preparation for the next exhalation. Breathing in slowly in this way, however, is a form of “doing,” and it means we have become subconsciously preoccupied with taking breath—precisely the thing we are trying to avoid. A true controlled exhalation can be performed only when we honestly recognize that we are beginning to take in air, stop when we detect this desire to take the breath, and, by allowing a normal breath rhythm to occur, focus only on the exhalation and not on the in-breath. When we do this, the air will come in relatively quickly, not slowly.

检查自己是否已经开始掌控呼吸的一种方法是，开始一系列受控的呼气，然后在中间停下来，让呼吸自然地吸气和呼气，持续几次，不要试图控制呼气。如果再次开始受控呼气时，你感觉自己为了准备受控呼气而吸入的空气比正常呼吸时更多，那么你很可能做得过头了。关键在于不要专注于呼吸（大多数人一旦开始考虑呼气或说话，往往会在潜意识里这样做），而要专注于身体的协调和呼气，这能确保肋骨得到适当的扩张和收缩。

One way to check to see if you have begun to manipulate the breathing is to begin a series of controlled exhalations and to simply stop in the middle and allow the breath to go in and out normally for several breaths without any attempt to control the exhalation. If, when you again begin to perform a controlled exhalation, you feel yourself taking more air to prepare for the controlled exhalation than you did during normal breathing, you can be pretty certain you are doing too much. The entire point is to focus not on breathing (which most of tend to do at a subconscious level once we begin to think about exhaling or speaking), but on bodily coordination and on the exhalation, which ensures that we are allowing the proper expansion and contraction of the ribs.

以这种方式阻止呼吸，起初会导致浅浅的呼气，仅持续一两秒，但无需担心。如果你坚持进行长而缓慢的呼气，你可能会得到更长的呼气，但你只会干扰整个过程，因为你准备呼吸，然后在呼气时产生紧张感。只有通过阻止呼吸，才能真正放松肋骨和横膈膜；这将间接导致更深的呼吸和更长的呼气。有时也会出现这种情况，随着呼吸的改善，呼吸似乎在某个时刻完全停止了一段时间。持续五秒甚至十秒。这意味着横膈膜正在完全放松和上升，呼吸不再被屏住；当你恢复呼吸并再次吸气时，一种新的、更轻松的呼吸模式将取代旧的呼吸模式。

Preventing the taking of breath in this way will, at first, result in shallow exhalations that last only a second or two, but there is no need to worry about this. If you insist on producing a long and slow exhalation, you may get a longer out-breath but you will only interfere with the entire process by preparing to take breath and then creating tension during the out-breath. Only by preventing the taking of breath is it possible to truly let go of the ribs and the diaphragm; this will indirectly result in deeper breathing and a longer exhalation. It also sometimes happens that, as improvements take place, the breathing seems at some point to stop entirely for a period of five or even ten seconds. This means that the diaphragm is relaxing and ascending fully and that the breath is no longer being held; when your breathing resumes and you take in a breath again, a new and less labored breathing pattern will take the place of the older breathing pattern.

在进行控制呼气时，确保吸气时用鼻孔呼吸也很有用。在正常呼吸和说话时，我们倾向于用嘴吸气；有意识地阻止用嘴吸气的倾向，让空气通过鼻子吸入，往往有助于恢复正常的呼吸模式。即使我们控制呼气或用嘴说话，吸气时也应该通过鼻子吸入。

It is also useful, when performing controlled exhalations, to make sure you are breathing through the nostrils on the in-breath. During normal breathing and speech we tend to gasp in air through the mouth; allowing air to come in through the nose by consciously preventing the tendency to take the air in through the mouth tends to restore a normal breathing pattern. Whenever we take air in, it should come in through the nose as a rule, even if we are doing a controlled exhalation or speaking out through the mouth.

最后，切勿因呼气时塌陷而将控制性呼气变成叹息。这看似放松，实则胸腔塌陷，与协调发声毫无关联。只有当一个人有明确的意图，以稳定的节奏延长呼气，同时保持肌肉系统协调、充满活力的状态时，才能实现真正的控制性呼气。

Finally, be sure not to turn the controlled exhalation into a sigh by collapsing during exhalation, which may seem relaxed but is in fact collapsing the chest and has little to do with coordinated vocal production. A true controlled exhalation can be brought about only when one has the clear intention to prolong the out-breath in a steady way while maintaining a coordinated, energized state of the muscular system while doing so.

低声说“啊”

The Whispered “Ah”

通过低语控制呼气——这会调动喉部肌肉，使我们更接近真正的发声——是低声说“啊”的最后一个关键要素。正如我们之前所见，当你通过低语控制呼气时，你就创造了发声的所有要素——控制呼气和发声所需的声带收紧——但却没有养成通常与说话或唱歌有关的有害习惯。

Controlling the exhalation by whispering—which brings into play the muscles of the larynx and so brings us one step closer to actual vocalization—is the remaining and crucial element of the whispered “ah.” As we saw earlier, when you control the exhalation by whispering, you are creating all the elements of vocalization—the controlled exhalation and the approximation of the vocal folds needed for vocalizing—but without the harmful habits usually associated with speaking or singing.

然而，由于低声发出的“啊”涉及到喉咙，所以它比简单地通过嘴唇或牙齿控制呼气要复杂得多，需要更多注意细节。一般人在发出低声发出的“啊”声时，往往会发出略带喉音的“啊”声。相比之下，如果你一开始发“h”音时，如果你清楚地知道你想发的元音不是“uh”而是“ah”，那么呼气就会更轻，喉咙也会更张开，这就是为什么低声说“啊”首先要用“ah”的原因。在低声说“啊”时，重要的是要把这个音清楚地理解为“ah”元音。

Because the whispered “ah” involves the throat, however, it is more complex and requires more attention to detail than a simple controlled exhalation through the lips or teeth. The average person, when producing a whispered “ah” sound, will tend to produce a somewhat throaty “huh” sound instead. In contrast, if you begin the sound not with the “h,” and if you are clear that the vowel sound you want to produce is not an “uh” but an “ah,” the exhalation will be lighter and the throat more open, which is why the whispered “ah” uses an “ah” in the first place. It is important, in performing a whispered “ah,” that the sound be conceived clearly as an “ah” vowel.

同样重要的是，在发出这个声音时，要把它想象成一种交流，就像你在对某人说“啊”一样。只需在呼气时将声带或嘴唇靠拢，就可以防止空气逸出，从而减慢呼气速度。但这更接近于正常呼气，而不是控制呼气。真正控制呼气的唯一方法是有意延长呼气或发出声音，这会激活肋骨和横膈膜的反射作用，从而自动控制空气的流出。那么，低声说的“啊”是由我们的心理意图引发的；就像所有声音交流一样，我们必须清楚我们的意图是什么，才能产生好的效果。

It is also important, when making this sound, to think of it as communication, as if you are saying the “ah” to someone. It is possible, by simply bringing the vocal folds or lips together during the exhalation, to prevent the escape of air and therefore to slow the exhalation. But this is closer to normal exhalation than to a controlled exhalation. The only way to truly control the exhalation is to have the intention to prolong the out-breath or to produce sound, which activates the reflex action of the ribs and diaphragm and results in an automatic control of the outflow of air. The whispered “ah,” then, is set into motion by our mental intention; as in all vocal communication, we have to be clear what our intention is in order to produce a good result.

最后，确保不要突然开始低语。如果你吸气，然后像停顿一样，在低语“啊”的开头感觉到气息“击中”声带，这意味着你已经稍微屏住呼吸，做好了发出低语的准备。不要在吸气完成之前就开始发出低语，这样你就可以在吸气完成之前就开始低语了。这样可以避免注意力集中在屏住呼吸的准备上，而将注意力集中在正确的呼气上。

Finally, be sure not to begin the whispered sound in an abrupt way. If you take in air and then, as if pausing, feel the breath “hit” the vocal folds as the whispered “ah” begins, this means you have held the breath slightly and have fixed in preparation for producing the whispered sound. Think instead of beginning the sound before you have completed the in-breath so that you are beginning the whisper before you’ve finished taking in air. This keeps the focus away from preparing by holding the breath, and keeps the focus where it should be—on the exhalation.

最后，请记住，低声说“啊”并非呼吸练习，而是一种“在活动中思考”的方式，旨在预防与呼吸和发声相关的不良习惯。通过建立肌肉系统的协调运作作为发声的基础，我们能够观察和预防不良习惯，并通过这一过程养成良好的习惯。将低声说“啊”作为呼吸练习，恰恰违背了其根本目的，因为思考呼吸或以任何方式操纵呼吸正是我们试图摆脱的。

Remember, finally, that the whispered “ah” is not a breathing exercise but a form of “thinking in activity” designed to prevent the harmful habits connected with breathing and vocalization. By establishing the coordinated working of the muscular system as the basis for producing sound, we are in a position to observe and prevent harmful habits, and through this process to establish good habits. To perform the whispered “ah” as a breathing exercise is to defeat its very purpose, since thinking of getting breath or manipulating the breath in any way is exactly what we’re trying to get away from.

如果你能成功地发出低声的“啊”的声音，你会发现它对整个身体都有好处，有助于建立健康的呼吸条件，因为它可以放松肋骨和横膈膜，防止倒吸空气，并协调喉头和呼吸。这可以平静系统，改善精神状态。它还可以改善血液循环，从而帮助血液充氧并排出二氧化碳。所以，在我们将此过程应用于发声之前，它已被证明有利于建立自由的呼吸流动，通过防止吸气，并通过延长呼气时间而不会紧张或虚脱。应用于发声，它构成了准备在不吸气的情况下发声的基础，也是自然延长呼气时间作为真正发声支持的基础。

If you are able to perform the whispered “ah” successfully, you’ll find that it has a salutary effect on the whole organism and helps to establish healthful conditions of breathing by making it possible to let go of the ribs and diaphragm, to prevent gasping in of air, and to coordinate the larynx and breathing. This calms the system and improves mental attitude. It also improves circulation, which in turn helps to oxygenate the blood and to expel carbon dioxide. So before we have even applied this procedure to vocalization it will prove to be beneficial in establishing a free breath flow by preventing the taking in of breath, and by extending the exhalation without tension or collapse. Applied to vocalization, it forms the basis for preparing to vocalize without taking in air, and for naturally extending the exhalation as the basis for true vocal support.

习惯问题

The Problem of Habit

重申一下我们目前观察到的问题，呼吸是肋骨和横膈膜运动的结果，当我们伸展和扩张身体，不干扰这些自然运动时，呼吸效率最高。发声也是如此。如果我们在收拢声带发声时不干扰肌肉的长度和自由度，说话和唱歌就能高效地进行。然而，通常情况下，我们会缩短身躯来吸气，然后收缩身躯来发声，从而干扰了确保自然呼吸的灵活性和自由度；结果就是我们耗费了过多的呼吸压力和肌肉力量。

To restate the problem that we have observed up till now, breathing is the result of movement of the ribs and diaphragm, and occurs most efficiently when we are lengthened and widened and not interfering with these natural movements. The same is true of vocalizing. If we don’t interfere with our muscular length and freedom when we bring the vocal folds together to vocalize, speaking and singing will occur in an efficient manner. Normally, though, we interfere with the mobility and freedom that ensure natural breathing by shortening in stature to take the breath and then constricting to produce sound; the result is that we use too much breath pressure and muscular effort.

在这个问题的背景下，我们看到低声说“啊”可以防止在发声时，声带仍保持收拢。通过将注意力集中在呼气而非吸气上，低声说“啊”可以避免吸气，并防止呼气时出现缩短和收紧的倾向——这正是你协调发声所需的条件。

In the context of this problem, we saw that the whispered “ah” provides a way of preventing the harmful habits that occur during vocalizing, while still bringing the vocal folds together. By focusing attention on the exhalation instead of the inhalation, the whispered “ah” makes it possible to prevent the taking of breath as well as to prevent the tendency to shorten and tighten while exhaling—exactly the conditions you want in order to vocalize in a coordinated way.

然而，人们很容易以为，只要把低声的“啊”转换成说话或唱歌，就能克服与说话和呼吸相关的不良习惯，但事实并非如此。当你发出声音时，你会发现——尽管你能够很好地发出低声的“啊”——那些有害的习惯又会卷土重来。你会吸气，然后为了真正发出声音，增加气流的压力——所有这些都表明紧张感在增加，即使你实际上感觉不到它在发生。

It is easy to assume, however, that simply by converting a whispered “ah” into speaking or singing it will be possible to overcome the wrong habits connected with speaking and breathing, and in fact that isn’t the case. At the moment you vocalize, you’ll find that—in spite of being able to perform a pretty good whispered “ah”—the harmful habits will return. You’ll take breath and then, in order to actually vocalize, increase the pressure of air flow—all indicating an increase in tension even if you can’t actually feel it happening.

因此，将低声说“啊”作为一种机械的程序——无论在某种程度上可能有所帮助——本身并不能解决发声问题。实际发声时必须解决的首要问题是习惯问题。由于说话或唱歌的想法会引发这些有害的习惯，任何试图“做”这个动作的尝试——无论意图多么良好——都会失败，因为你不可能在没有想法的情况下做出这个动作。

Performing the whispered “ah” as a kind of rote procedure, then—however helpful this may be up to a point—is not in itself a solution to the problem of vocalizing. The first and primary problem that has to be solved when actually vocalizing is the problem of habit. Since the idea of speaking or singing brings into play these harmful habits, any attempt to “do” the action—however well-intentioned—will fail, since you can’t perform the action without having the idea of doing it.

尝试以第九章中描述的半仰卧姿势躺下，你会很容易察觉到想要发声时产生的干扰。如果在进行一系列受控的呼气之后，你开始发声，你会感到颈部和躯干肌肉明显紧张或用力增加，这与吸气的欲望有关。熟悉这种倾向非常重要。如果不首先确定问题所在，盲目尝试应用一种方法并不能解决声音滥用的问题。因为发声习惯很微妙，我们很容易以为自己成功地避免了这些习惯，而实际上并没有。必须认识到，发声行为会引发那些自然干扰发声的倾向。继续尝试轻松地发声，并在尝试进一步进行之前尽可能多地观察自己，积累经验。

Try this while lying down in the semi-supine position described in Chapter 9, and it becomes fairly easy to perceive the interference that happens when one thinks of vocalizing. If, after performing a series of controlled exhalations, you begin to vocalize, you’ll feel a noticeable increase of tension or effort in the muscles of the neck and trunk, which is connected with the desire to take in breath. Becoming acquainted with this tendency is invaluable. Blindly attempting to apply a method cannot solve the problem of vocal misuse if it is not based first on identifying what the problem is. Because vocal habits are subtle, it is easy to think we are succeeding in preventing these habits when we are not. It is essential to recognize that the act of vocalizing will bring into play the very tendencies that interfere with vocalizing naturally. Continue to experiment with vocalizing effortlessly, and get as much experience in observing yourself before attempting to proceed further.

低声说“啊”和机械优势的位置

Whispered “Ah” and Position of Mechanical Advantage

正如我们所见，低声说“啊”并不完全依赖于声带的运作。最后一个问题是如何将低声说“啊”——需要声带闭合但不振动——转化为真正的发声。我们已经看到，任何说话或唱歌的决定都会导致错误的习惯；因此，必须找到一种方法，既能完全模拟声带的运作，又不与日常言语产生关联。

As we’ve seen, the whispered “ah” does not involve a complete approximation of the vocal folds. The final problem is to turn the whispered “ah”—which involves closure of the vocal folds but not vibration—into actual vocalization. We’ve already seen that any decision to speak or sing brings about the wrong habits; so a way has to be found to fully approximate the vocal folds that doesn’t associate with ordinary speech.

然而，尝试在半仰卧姿势下做到这一点很困难。唱歌是一项体力活，运动性很强的活动，所以以被动姿势进行几乎是不可能的。你必须让自己处于一个有利于机械运动的位置，尽可能地激发肌肉的弹性（图12-1a和b ）​​。伸直手指，将双手放在平坦的表面上，这样你就可以“四脚着地”，为背部提供充足的支撑，这也是很有帮助的。在图12-1c所示的姿势中，背部和前部身体的伸展度得到提升，背部变宽且富有弹性，胸腔完全打开且灵活。如果动作熟练，这个姿势可以使背部伸肌保持高度紧张和弹性，肋骨获得最大程度的自由；这样就可以进行有控制的呼气，获得真正的支撑和力量，并且毫不费力。

Trying to do this in the semi-supine position, however, is difficult. Singing is a physical, athletic act, so doing it in a passive position is nearly impossible. It is necessary to put yourself into a position of mechanical advantage that encourages as much elasticity in the muscles as possible (figs. 12-1a and b). It is also helpful to straighten your fingers and to place your hands on a flat surface so that you are “four-footed,” which gives plenty of support for the back. In the position illustrated in figure 12-1c, the back and front of the body are lengthening, the back is widened and elastic, and the thorax is fully open and flexible. When performed skillfully, this position produces a highly toned and elastic condition of the extensor muscles of the back with maximum freedom in the ribs; it is then possible to perform a controlled exhalation with true support and power and no sense of effort whatsoever.

当你熟练地在这个姿势下发出拉长的声音时，可以练习一系列低声的“啊”。忘掉你是否已经成功戒掉了有害的发声习惯吧；关键在于积累经验，将各个组成部分整合起来，形成一个协调的动作，从而提高协调低声“啊”的熟练程度。

When you are skilled in producing lengthening while in this position, perform a series of whispered “ahs.” Forget about whether you have succeeded in preventing your harmful vocal habits; the point is to gain experience and to put together the different components that result in a coordinated act and, in this way, to develop proficiency in performing a coordinated whispered “ah.”

发声与不做

Vocalizing and Nondoing

最后一步是想象一个声音，但不要用通常与唱歌或说话相关的有害习惯相关的方式。有几种方法可以做到这一点：在低声说“啊”时，双唇闭合，发出“妈”的音；或者，在开始低语时，先提高音调，然后快速降低音调。这比我们通常用低频发声更不容易导致不良习惯。通过想象一个声音，我们可以完全闭合声带，但实际上并没有像通常那样唱歌或说话的意图。这样一来，理论上，声带就会闭合，发出发声，而无需改变使用方式。

The final step is to think of a sound, but not in the usual way that associates with the harmful habits associated with singing and speech. There are several ways to do this: bringing the lips together and making a “ma” sound during the whispered “ah”; or, at the moment of beginning to whisper, to vocalize instead at a higher pitch and descend quickly, which is less associated with harmful habits than vocalizing in our usual lower range. By thinking of a sound, we can achieve full closure of the vocal folds, but without actually having the intention, in the usual sense, of singing or speaking. In theory, then, the vocal folds will come together, resulting in vocalized sound, without any change in use.

然而，在实践中，要达到完美自然、纯净的歌声并非易事。发声的习惯根深蒂固，以至于当我们真正想到要发出声音时，我们不可避免地会沉溺于旧习惯，以达到同样的效果。如果我们仔细观察每次想到发声时发生的事情，就能注意到紧张程度的变化、气流的变化（这表明用力增加）或姿势的改变；这些都表明我们已经屈服于以惯常方式发声的想法。

In practice, however, achieving a perfectly natural, pure sung tone is not easy. Habits of vocalizing are so deeply ingrained that, the moment we think of actually producing sound, we will inevitably indulge in our old habit to get that result. If we observe closely what happens each time we think of vocalizing, we will be able to notice changes in the level of tension, changes in air flow (which indicate an increase in effort), or alterations in posture; these tell us that we have given in to the idea of vocalizing in the usual way.

在这个阶段，理解低声说的“啊”，而不仅仅是知道如何说，非常重要。我们大多数人认为要发出声音，我们必须付出努力来支持音调；这种倾向如此强烈，以至于唱歌的欲望会引发妨碍发声的习惯。当我们清楚地理解了低声说的“啊”时，我们知道，如果我们在发出受控的低声声音的同时，只关注肌肉系统的协调工作，发声的所有要素都已具备。那么，为什么我们要想着呼吸或发声才能发出声音呢？假设肌肉系统协调良好，那么除了受控的呼气和声带的收缩之外，发声不需要其他任何东西，而这只需通过思考就能实现。这意味着无需做任何事情，就可以发声；因此，我们可以坚持不发声的决定，并相信只要坚持关注自己，就能实现目标。

It is at this stage that understanding the whispered “ah,” and not just knowing how to do it, is so important. Most of us believe that to produce sound, we must do something by using effort to support the tone; this tendency is so powerful that the desire to sing will elicit the very habits that interfere with vocalizing. When we understand the whispered “ah” clearly though, we know that all the elements of vocalizing are present if we simply attend to the coordinated working of the muscular system while producing a controlled whispered sound. Why, then, should we have to think about breathing or vocalizing in order to produce sound? Assuming the muscular system is properly coordinated, nothing more is required to produce sound except a controlled exhalation and approximation of the vocal folds, which can be brought about simply by thinking. This means that without doing anything at all, it is possible to vocalize; we can therefore stick to the decision not to vocalize, confident that we’ll be able to achieve our goal simply by adhering to the process of attending to ourselves.

因此，真正轻声发出“啊”的声音，首先需要保持整体平衡，以便胸腔的弹性支撑能够让呼吸顺畅无阻。无需真正吸气，就能毫不费力地发出“啊”的声音，无需任何推挤或用力的呼吸，也无需收缩胸腔，只需微笑放松面部肌肉，让舌头放松至下牙尖，同时放松下颌，发出“啊”的声音。然后，双唇闭合，让气息从鼻子进入，如此循环往复。此时，注意力不应被呼吸或发声所困扰，而应专注于正确的身体协调，同时“聆听”自己想要发出的声音。实际上，不应有吸气的意识，而应只注意扩张；然后，必须保持扩张，同时让下颌自由张开，发出开放的“啊”声。随着用力程度的减少，“啊”在呼吸周期的呼气阶段应该持续越来越长。这种控制性的呼气，能够协调呼吸和喉咙的运作——真正低声发出的“啊”。

A true whispered “ah,” then, requires first that one is in a general condition of poise so that the elastic scaffolding of the thorax allows breathing to take place fully unimpeded. Without actually taking a breath, the “ah” sound must then be produced effortlessly, without any pushing or forcing of the breath whatsoever or contraction of the rib cage, simply by smiling to release facial muscles, allowing the tongue to release to the tip of the lower teeth while releasing the jaw to let the “ah” sound come out. The lips then come together to let the breath enter through the nose, and then the cycle is repeated. The mind must not be preoccupied with the breathing or with making the sound, but must be instead focused on the correct bodily coordinations while “hearing” the sound one wants. There should in fact be no consciousness of taking breath, but only of allowing the expansions; and then one must maintain the expansions while allowing the jaw to open freely to make an open “ah” sound. As one reduces the amount of effort, the “ah” should last longer and longer during the expiration part of the breathing cycle. This is the controlled expiration that constitutes a coordinated use of breathing and throat—a true whispered “ah.”

重要的是要记住，在这个过程中，呼吸必须完全顺着自然循环进行——吸气然后发出声音的诱惑非常大。呼气时不受干扰才能控制发声；实现这一点的身体协调性必须成为关注的重点。这意味着必须理解上述呼吸原则，保持最佳的平衡和伸展，以便弹性支架能够充分发挥作用，从而确保正确的呼吸动作能够畅通无阻。这也意味着悬吊肌能够正确地支撑喉部。同样重要的是要记住，发音肌肉必须保持不动：脸颊、舌头、下颌、软腭和喉咙。此外，如果在发声过程中有任何吸气、用力或用力呼吸，则说明发声过程不正确。声音应该轻柔、开放、清晰；如果喉咙有任何用力，声音中就能听出来。

It is important to keep in mind that during this process, the breathing must be completely left alone to its natural cycle—the temptation to take breath and then to make the sound is very great. It is the noninterference during expiration that makes for the controlled vocalization; the bodily coordination that allows for this must be the main focus of attention. This means that one must understand the above principles of breathing, achieving the maximum poise and length in stature so that the elastic scaffolding can operate to full advantage, which in turn ensures that the correct breathing movements can take place unimpeded. This also implies that the suspensory muscles are properly supporting the larynx. It is also important to keep in mind that the muscles of articulation must be left alone: cheeks, tongue, jaw, soft palate, and throat. Furthermore, if there is any taking of breath, any effort, or any pressure of breath to make the sound, the procedure is being done incorrectly. The sound should be light, open, and projected; if there is any effort in the throat, it can be heard in the sound.

成功掌握这一过程后，下一步就是发辅音，尝试不同的元音，并造出词语。这将需要用到发音肌肉，但方式与通常说话或唱歌的方式不同，而是遵循纯歌唱音调的原则。之后，人们就可以完整地发出声音——这一步需要大量的实验，并注意我们讨论过的原则，但如果严格遵循这些原则，就一定能成功。发出饱满的音调所需的努力应该不比低声细语所需花费的多。

When one has successfully mastered this process, the next step is to form consonants, experiment with different vowels, and to produce words. This will involve the muscles of articulation, not in the way normally associated with speaking or singing but true to the principles of a pure sung tone. Then one can vocalize the sound fully—a step that requires a great deal of experimentation and attention to the principles we have discussed, but which cannot fail to succeed if these principles are closely adhered to. Producing a full tone should involve no more effort than the whispered sound requires.

如果你成功做到这一点，你会发现，毫不费力，你就能发出强劲洪亮的声音，持续十秒或更长时间，而且无需任何明显的吸气，就能完成一个乐句，然后开始下一个乐句。因为你在发出这个声音时没有吸气，你会好奇它是如何持续这么久的；原因在于，你的身体系统毫不费力地、有弹性地运转着，拥有一种强大而运动的力量，却不需要通常意义上的努力。

If you are successful in doing this, you will find that, without any sense of effort, you will be able to produce a powerful and resonant sound that can last ten seconds or more and, without any perceptible intake of breath, can finish a phrase and begin a new one. Because you have not taken breath to produce this sound, you will wonder how it can last this long; the reason is that the system is working effortlessly and elastically, with a kind of powerful and athletic strength that nevertheless requires no effort in the normal sense.

这个过程的关键在于知道如何停止。当我们有唱歌的目标时，唱歌的意图或想法就会带来有害的习惯会干扰发声所依赖的自然动作。为了避免这种情况，重要的是不要直接追求目标，而是坚持觉察身体并协调控制呼气的过程。任何急躁或对结果的担忧都会干扰这个过程；通过关注发声所涉及的要素而非“结果”，就有可能将低语转化为完全发声，而不会真正干扰呼吸和发声所依赖的肌肉系统的协调工作。

The key to this process is knowing how to stop. When we have the goal of singing a note, the intention or idea of singing will bring into play the harmful habits that interfere with the natural movements that vocalizing depends on. To circumvent this, it is important not to go directly for the goal but, instead, to adhere to the process of being aware of the body and of producing a coordinated controlled exhalation. Any impatience or concern for results will interfere with this process; by focusing not on the “end” but on the elements involved in producing sound, it is possible to convert the whispered sound into a fully vocalized sound without actually interfering with the coordinated working of the muscular system on which breathing and vocalizing depend.

然而，要想成功地通过停下脚步，专注于过程而非结果来预防不良习惯，其首要前提是让系统中的所有对抗作用发挥机械优势，并将其应用于发声问题。一切都取决于觉察并促成整体全新协调的构建过程，学习在这种协调状态下低声发出“啊”的声音，然后以控制呼气作为桥梁，以一种全新的方式发声。如此一来，你将理解发声中一个全新的革命性原理：掌控机制，以此为基础，按照自然的真正法则，轻松发声。

Successfully preventing the wrong habits by stopping and focusing on the process instead of the end, however, is built first and foremost on getting all the antagonistic actions of the system working in the position of mechanical advantage, and in then applying this to the problem of vocalizing. Everything depends on the building-block process of being aware and bringing about a new coordination of the whole, learning to perform a whispered “ah” in this coordinated state, and then using the controlled exhalation as a bridge to vocalizing in a completely new way. In this way, you will understand a completely new and revolutionary principle in vocal production: the principle of commanding the mechanism as the basis for effortlessly producing sound according to the true principles of nature.

当你能够做到这一点时，你将能够发出一种可以毫不费力地维持的声音，无需任何操纵，也不会察觉到吸气。

When you are able to do this, you will be able to produce a sound that can be maintained effortlessly, with no manipulation and with no perceptible intake of breath.

总而言之，协调发声需要：

To summarize, coordinated vocalizing requires:

1. 1. 了解身体的运作方式，并能够通过意识来产生延长反应和整个肌肉系统的自由以及各部分运作的整合；
2. 1. a knowledge of how the body works and the ability, by being aware, to produce a lengthening response and freedom throughout the musculature and integration of the working of the parts;
3. 2. 认识到停止说话或唱歌是防止不良习惯的基础的重要性；
4. 2. recognition of the importance of stopping as the basis for preventing the harmful habits associated with speech or singing;
5. 3. 认识到这些习惯在直接结束说话或唱歌时起作用，并且必须停下来作为发声尝试的基础；
6. 3. recognition that these habits operate when going directly for the end of speaking or singing, and of the necessity of stopping as the basis for any attempts to vocalize;
7. 4. 了解发声的要素——需要控制气流和声带的逼近——以及能够巧妙地运用低声说“啊”，作为在不考虑发声的情况下创造发声要素的一种手段；
8. 4. knowledge of the elements of vocalizing—the need for controlled airflow and for approximation of the vocal folds—and the ability to apply the whispered “ah” intelligently as a means of creating these components of vocalizing without the idea of vocalizing; and
9. 5. 通过关注手段而非结果，并尝试将声带聚集在一起以产生与正常语音或歌唱无关的声音的方式，间接实现产生声音的目标的能力。
10. 5. the ability to achieve the goal of producing sound indirectly by focusing not on the end but on the means, and by experimenting with ways of bringing the vocal folds together to produce sound that are not associated with normal speech or singing.

要正确控制呼气，需要牢记以下要点：(1) 建立协调的总体条件，以确保胸腔在呼吸时正常运动，以及喉头在其支架内保持理想的悬空；(2) 不要用力，也不要像平常那样用力挤压喉咙来发声。如果不能成功避免这些倾向，练习就只是一次普通的发声练习而已。如果保持正确的总体条件，歌手将能够轻松地发出声音，并且能够拥有更敏锐的感知标准，以此作为衡量声部使用是否正确的标准，这样他就能不断进步，而不是像天生有天赋的歌手那样，随着时间的推移，逐渐干扰整个过程。这样，就有可能协调呼吸和喉咙，从而进行控制呼气，而不会违反呼吸原则，也不会不必要地挤压喉咙或过度用力。这样一来，发出的声音将不再受普通歌手通常的限制，而由于发现了纯粹歌唱音色的基础而自然而然产生的卓越控制力将证明，当特定的技巧建立在真正的呼吸和发声原则之上时，它最容易获得。不会为了弥补嗓音的不足而调动错误的肌肉和部位。而音色的开放性和自然的情感之美，以及它产生的毫不费力，将令人信服。即使是最怀疑的人也认为大自然并不希望我们付出努力来表达自己。

The essential points to keep in mind when producing a correct controlled exhalation are (1) to establish the general conditions of coordination that will ensure the proper movements of the thorax in breathing as well as the desired suspension of the larynx within its scaffolding, and (2) not to use any effort or to bring into play the usual vocal habits by pressing air against the throat. If these tendencies are not successfully prevented, the exercise is just that—another vocal exercise. If the correct general conditions are maintained, the singer will be able to produce sound with ease and will also possess an improved sensory standard as a criterion against which to measure the incorrect use of parts so that he will be able to constantly improve rather than increasingly interfere with the process, as is so often the case with even naturally gifted singers over time. It is then possible to coordinate the breathing with the throat so as to produce a controlled exhalation without violating the principles of breathing or unnecessarily pushing against the throat and using too much effort. The sound that will then come out will not be constrained by the usual limitations found in the average singer, and the superiority of control that comes spontaneously as a result of having discovered the basis of the pure sung tone will prove that specific skill comes most easily when it is founded on the true principles of breathing and vocalization. The wrong muscles and parts will not be brought into play in order to make up for deficiencies in the voice. And the openness and naturally emotive beauty of the tone and the effortlessness with which it is produced will convince even the most skeptical that nature did not intend us to resort to effort in order to express ourselves.

我在本书中多次谈到那些专注于发展特定功能而非整体协调声音的训练方法。秉承这一理念，我在实践章节中展示了如何将纯粹的歌声作为歌唱的根本问题。但是，歌唱的实际要求，例如演唱长乐句的能力，又该如何满足呢？我们在此讨论的原则对歌手来说似乎意义不大，因为根据定义，歌手必须在呼气（发声）时以及为了按照音乐要求吸气时，刻意控制自然的呼吸周期。那么，我们一直在思考的这些原则如何帮助歌手演唱高难度的声乐曲目呢？

I’ve talked a lot in this book about training methods that concentrate on developing specific functions and instead focused on coordinating the voice as a whole. In keeping with this approach, I have demonstrated, in these practical sections, how to produce a pure sung tone as the fundamental problem in singing. But what about the practical demands of singing, which require the ability to sing long phrases? The principles we have discussed here appear to be of little value to the singer, who must by definition impose a deliberate control on the natural breathing cycle, both during expiration (vocalization) and in order to get the breath as the music demands. How then do the principles we have been considering help the singer perform a demanding vocal repertoire?

首先，我们必须记住，发出纯净的歌声先于歌唱，而歌唱是一个复杂的智力过程，涉及旋律、语言和音乐诠释。掌握歌唱的首要条件是，我们学会如何根据自然的情感冲动来发声，以表达情感，而这才是音乐作为一种智力过程的先决条件。

First of all we must remember that producing a pure sung tone precedes singing, which is a complex, intellectual process involving melody, language, and musical interpretation. Mastery of singing demands, first and foremost, that we learn how to produce sound according to the natural emotive impulse to express feeling, and this precedes music as an intellectual process.

其次，呼吸的原理表明，发声——无论多么复杂——首先是身体整体协调运动的结果，尤其是呼吸系统和喉咙之间的协调运动。该机制的任何部分都只能通过其在整体中的运作才能很好地发挥其特定功能。如果喉部肌肉在悬吊肌的框架内没有得到适当的支撑和拉伸，它们就无法正常发挥其特定功能。因此，任何需要刻意运用该机制的技能——即使它们可能对机制的任何部分提出不同寻常的要求——都必须建立在协调的整体之上。

Secondly, the principles involved in breathing indicate that vocalizing—no matter how complex—is, first and foremost, the result of coordinated movements of the body as a whole, and in particular between the respiratory scaffolding and the throat. That any part of the mechanism can perform its particular function well is made possible only by its working within the whole. If the muscles of the larynx are not properly supported and stretched within the scaffolding of the suspensory muscles, they cannot properly serve their specific functions. Therefore any skills involving deliberate use of this mechanism—even when they may place unusual demands on any part of the mechanism—must be built on the coordinated whole.

换句话说，歌手必须培养对呼吸和歌唱音色所依赖的基本原则的控制；具体的控制建立在这个基础上。如果这种特定功能所依赖的协调基础薄弱，那么对发声和呼吸的具体控制就会被误导，并导致最终导致呼吸减弱和声音失真。作为一名歌手，你可能会担心这个基础不适用于真正的歌唱，但事实恰恰相反：如果你在掌握基本的发声乐器之前就试图掌握曲目的技术层面，你就会养成有害的习惯，这些习惯会妨碍真正的歌唱，并且永远无法达到歌唱所需的真正精湛技艺。因此，产生纯粹歌唱音色的原则并非不适用于歌手的特殊需求，恰恰因为歌手日益增强的需求需要协调整体的最高效率，而这些特定功能正是建立在其之上的。1

The singer must, in other words, cultivate control on the primary principles on which the breathing and sung tone rest; specific control is built on this foundation. If such a foundation of coordination on which the specific functions rest is weak, then specific efforts at vocal and breath control will be misdirected and lead eventually to weakened breathing and vocal distortions. As a singer you may worry that this foundation can’t apply to real singing, but in fact it’s the other way around: if you try to master the technical aspects of repertoire before gaining command of the basic sound-producing instrument, you’ll cultivate harmful habits that interfere with real singing and never gain the real mastery required for singing. The principles involved in producing a pure sung tone, therefore, far from being inapplicable to the unusual needs of the singer, are all the more important precisely because the singer’s intensified demands require the maximum efficiency of the coordinated whole on which the specific functions are built.1

第二章：呼吸

Chapter 2: Breathing

第三章：喉部

Chapter 3: The Larynx

第四章：喉悬肌

Chapter 4: The Suspensory Muscles of the Larynx

第五章：支持问题

Chapter 5: The Problem of Support

第六章：声部

Chapter 6: Vocal Registers

第七章 歌手的喉咙

Chapter 7: The Singer’s Throat

第 8 章：安置

Chapter 8: Placement

第九章：预防声音滥用的基本模式

Chapter 9: Preventing the Basic Pattern of Vocal Misuse

第十二章：创作纯正的歌声

Chapter 12: Producing a Pure Sung Tone

西奥多·戴蒙的其他书籍

Other Books by Theodore Dimon